free soloing - rough

there is no pity in this implacable face
there is no mercy in the wind’s whistle
there will be no quarter in this battle

in one corner stands the skeleton of the world
great granite salient spires pierce
from the earth like broken femurs
protruding raw from shredded muscles
the champ stands eternal, defiant
proud peak with a winning streak
longer than he is high

and in the other corner is the challenger
an upstart monkey who cut his teeth
on trees. thinks he can, dares, to climb
one who was when those pines were kelp
this ape seeks to conquer time, to place
his mark as high as he can reach
stone smirks silently, confident

to tell the tale he scales the shale
stony whale with flukes and barnacles
he rides the great grey humpback
over a switchback, carrying no pack
just lungs full and tendons taut
muscles strain without a thought
mindless journey into naught

man meets mountain, it’s merely madness
to try to pierce the sky’s fastness
Olympian castle wreathed in clouds
Promethean scale and upward bound
in the ascent he seeks a sense
of worth unknown on the earth
rising higher rarely glimpsed heights
rarefied air and starlit nights
breathe champagne bathe in light
in the struggle he forgets to worry
lost in the journey, falling up
sleeps like just another rock