PATH TO RETREAT

From where the motor road ended,

A track begins in zigzag snaking uphill,

That takes to a place where elders reside,

Away from the hullabaloos, on the peak of a hill.

The climb uphill was not easy but arduous,

The legs become heavy, the loads burden us down.

Out of breath and chests heaving, every step is laborious,

Relieved it was reaching the knoll over cliff’s crown.

Glad it felt to throw the load off and lay down flat,

And catch my breath and let the heaving subside.

And lo, the sight that unfolded took my breath away,

Right in front is the entire valley sprawling on all sides.

The wind blows hard on this vantage point,

Where prayers travel fast written on wind horse flags,

So the knoll is strewn with prayer flags strung all over,

Blowing wildly in urgency, prayers spread from these flags.

From here the track just winds up further into the forest,

Of oaks and cypress in new flush and rhododendrons in full bloom.

The landscape is scenic and scintillatingly surreal,

There cannot be any reason for gloom to loom.

From there the elders took on,

Loads divided, the journey resume,

Not far is the destiny that is so serene,

And on the same track our return journey too resume.

Gyembo Namgyal

February 20, 2015 11:10 PM