The Climb

The ladders were built

Rickety and haphazard

With hinting of cracks

And missing steps,

The same ladder

Handed down

From father to son

Mother to daughter,

Never growing,

Consistently shrinking

In a world ever changing-

Stick figures lept

Aiming for the top

Delayed by rungs,

Caught in motion,

Slammed back to reality

Shoelaces catching

In the overlooked fragments

That were broken off,

Fingers reaching for next step

In hopes of removing shoe-

In hopes of heaving self

Forward with little assistance-

The exertion leading

To fewer rungs,

A step just out of sight-

The distance unimaginable,

Unattainable for solitary figure-

Assistance from below

Bulky shoulders to lift

To hold the brunt

And push on-

In hopes of a return

In years to come-

But this ladder

Only goes up.

Katrina Thornley is a nature poet and novelist that resides in Rhode Island. She has two poetry collections currently published, a novel, as well as a short story anthology. Her poetry collections "Arcadians: Lullaby in Nature" and "Arcadians: Wooden Mystics" were inspired by a local park and life in her small rural town. You can find them on Amazon now!

Also, be sure to give her a follow on Instagram!