The Companion

We walk together,
You and I,
With no pretence or sorrow.
The world around us stares and shakes,
Is it love that we see,
Or something else?
We laugh at them.
It’s beyond your grasp, is all we say.
Defying everything and everyone,
Laughter our only fuel,
We go on and on.

A majestic mountain obstructs our way,
Covered in snow,
It’s cold, it’s dark,
It’s the test you see, the world claims,
Pass this and see how it ends.
Our eyes meet,
No fear in them.
We smile and start the climb.
The frosty wind blows, with all its strength,
The frozen snow breaks at every step,
Our eyes can’t see, our feet can’t walk,
Yet we go on and on.

For days together, we fight the gods,
We refuse to give up, refuse to fall.
At long last, we see the sight,
The glorious summit, in front of our eyes.
We look at it, it stares at us,
We know this is the final step.
You leave my side, for a moment, you say,
Give me your hand; I shall reach the top,
And then I shall help you there.
You reach the peak, you look around:
The brilliant sights and the melodious sounds.
With a smile on your lips, you drift away.
It’s the moment, I tell myself.
Repulsed by your victory, the wind blows harder,
Its viciousness unmatched,
Help me, I shout.
My words don’t reach you, somehow,
Is it a delusion or for real, I cannot say.
The ground shakes, in a threatening way,
I look at you,
Intoxicated by the view, your blind eyes see the sights,
Your deaf ears hear the sounds,
Of victory, of glory and nothing else.
And then, I realize, the bitter truth.
The snow shatters with a final crack,
And I go on and on.

And the world below celebrates.
Your feat. Our fall.