Nick Christofides's Blog
April 12, 2020
Poem: That Day In Torres Del Paine
That Day In Torres Del Paine
The molasses quiet of the highlands is pressing
Heavy against my ears, priorities redressing.
While an early searing sun smarts my eyes
I savour my mud, and my body sighs.
My meadow bed is velvet and warm
But before long, invigorated, I swarm.
I see the snap and crack of fire bright,
A beacon to mingle and have a bite.
The Gothic divinity of the condors span
Darkens the sky, death, her master plan.
At this time, we make our speech
And to our guides we do preach,
‘My friends, today can we climb
A snow-capped monster, in Torres Del Paine.
We must stay spritely and brave,
Lest the mount become our grave.
If rain should fall and cloud come in
Pull together and we will win.’
And so it was, the beauty of the beast
Today would be our thrilling feast.
Leaving our camp, trooping up scree,
We’re halted by a striking plea,
Puffed and teetering on skeletal twig
The Great Horned Owl dances her jig.
I could not move or turn my eye,
Until she swoops and passes by.
I am so infinitely small, this boundlessness
Unfathomable essence, never shows discountenance
The wild is where true awe is found
Where romance, joy and love abound.
Although the sun shines with all its glory,
The west wind blows a different story.
Before I step three more paces
The rain was spitting in our faces.
As I look towards the heavens
I see clouds, at sixes and at sevens.
Nirvana darkens, the world is churning,
Top to bottom, my plan is turning.
But the peak remains our goal,
So on I go,trepidation filling my soul.
Atop ravine, we teeter above a fearful fall
On cold wet stones steep and tall.
Now Nature commits a heinous crime,
Ice does plummet, we lose all time.
No way down now, the clouds have closed
And my friend slips a step, down she goes,
I watch her slide, time does stop.
We follow after, as her back hits rock.
By her side, fearing the worst
Our joyous bubble entirely burst.
A brave face greets us there
As life’s fragility is laid bare
But no harm has our team beset
Luck is with us, and so is threat!
‘Are we destined for this grave?
Or could we manage all to save?’
Now we shake and hug each other,
The cold and fear, a life will smother,
Those silent ones with whom to fret;
Them, the deathly creeping chill could get.
Now the snow is settling in,
Blood is freezing in the limb.
So choc and oats we do eat
Death is someone not to meet.
My desperate urge is to cry
But from that, I must shy.
From deep down I muster strength.
We rally and fight. And at length
Our team does reach the forests edge,
A collective step taken from the ledge.
Although our hardship is not done,
The peaks torment is on the run.
The flame inside burns once again,
That spirit does not succumb to pain.
A frigid joy it does bring,
On reaching path we do sing,
And as we warm beside our fire
From laughing we will never tire.
But no one breaths, not one breath
About our recent brush with death.
For more of my poetry and blogs, and also reviews, excerpts and trailers for my novel The Border Reiver https://www.nickcbooks.com
The molasses quiet of the highlands is pressing
Heavy against my ears, priorities redressing.
While an early searing sun smarts my eyes
I savour my mud, and my body sighs.
My meadow bed is velvet and warm
But before long, invigorated, I swarm.
I see the snap and crack of fire bright,
A beacon to mingle and have a bite.
The Gothic divinity of the condors span
Darkens the sky, death, her master plan.
At this time, we make our speech
And to our guides we do preach,
‘My friends, today can we climb
A snow-capped monster, in Torres Del Paine.
We must stay spritely and brave,
Lest the mount become our grave.
If rain should fall and cloud come in
Pull together and we will win.’
And so it was, the beauty of the beast
Today would be our thrilling feast.
Leaving our camp, trooping up scree,
We’re halted by a striking plea,
Puffed and teetering on skeletal twig
The Great Horned Owl dances her jig.
I could not move or turn my eye,
Until she swoops and passes by.
I am so infinitely small, this boundlessness
Unfathomable essence, never shows discountenance
The wild is where true awe is found
Where romance, joy and love abound.
Although the sun shines with all its glory,
The west wind blows a different story.
Before I step three more paces
The rain was spitting in our faces.
As I look towards the heavens
I see clouds, at sixes and at sevens.
Nirvana darkens, the world is churning,
Top to bottom, my plan is turning.
But the peak remains our goal,
So on I go,trepidation filling my soul.
Atop ravine, we teeter above a fearful fall
On cold wet stones steep and tall.
Now Nature commits a heinous crime,
Ice does plummet, we lose all time.
No way down now, the clouds have closed
And my friend slips a step, down she goes,
I watch her slide, time does stop.
We follow after, as her back hits rock.
By her side, fearing the worst
Our joyous bubble entirely burst.
A brave face greets us there
As life’s fragility is laid bare
But no harm has our team beset
Luck is with us, and so is threat!
‘Are we destined for this grave?
Or could we manage all to save?’
Now we shake and hug each other,
The cold and fear, a life will smother,
Those silent ones with whom to fret;
Them, the deathly creeping chill could get.
Now the snow is settling in,
Blood is freezing in the limb.
So choc and oats we do eat
Death is someone not to meet.
My desperate urge is to cry
But from that, I must shy.
From deep down I muster strength.
We rally and fight. And at length
Our team does reach the forests edge,
A collective step taken from the ledge.
Although our hardship is not done,
The peaks torment is on the run.
The flame inside burns once again,
That spirit does not succumb to pain.
A frigid joy it does bring,
On reaching path we do sing,
And as we warm beside our fire
From laughing we will never tire.
But no one breaths, not one breath
About our recent brush with death.
For more of my poetry and blogs, and also reviews, excerpts and trailers for my novel The Border Reiver https://www.nickcbooks.com
