Poetry competition CLOSED 18th April 2017 10:28am
WINNER
Bethy (Bbbethy)
Bethy (Bbbethy)
RUNNER-UP:
Josh
Growing, growing, grown...
Starting Me On the Path
Long ago as a child camping,
I ventured from our tent
the morning after
a night-long downpour
when all of Yosemite
was clean and brilliant
in the morning sun
that filtered through
to my favorite vantage,
a smooth outcrop of granite
that rose from the path I walked
each day to a chattering stream.
Standing in the silence
on the concave expanse of stone
I beheld overhead
the arc of a rainbow!
The myth of what I
might find at one end
took over my imagination
and off I went exploring
'till soon, there it was
below in a clearing;
the rainbow's end surrounded
by a council of trees.
Instinctively, I climbed down
to stake my claim,
to be bathed in the
spectrum of its colors
but as I approached,
the brilliance began to fade
until nothing remained.
Such was the folly of
what I hoped for,
to be left
with only a memory.
For years I mourned,
thinking if only I'd stayed
at a distance
to enjoy what I had.
Yet since I've grown,
with each passing year
I know the gift is not gold,
but is the rainbow itself.
Anonymous
