The mountain path leads endlessly on
Through green bathed woods and tumbling rocks,
Now stumbling on a sunlit hollow
Where tiny birds seek more mundane fare.
A tunnel through flowering lantana bush
Draws my eye in search of her;
Always in hope of a fleeting glimpse,
I cognise this rabbit run’s not for me.
Barely a step is plainly trod,
The ground uneven with ruts and mounds.
Snares and roots reach up like hands;
Branches pluck at pack and shirt.
Around a bend a small cataract
Lifts mist and fog into the eyes,
Whetting my appetite to do the same,
One companion briefly displacing the other.
Patches of sunlight brighten my way,
Warming my face as I look for their source.
In these ephemeral oases I’m tempted to linger
But my goal is the summit far above.
