Fresh Tracks

If anyone can hope to understand
What it means to ski an unknown valley
With a backpack, not of your own making,
Filled with nothing that you wish to carry,

It is one who skied that path before.

That was another day with different snow.
He carried weighty objects in his pack,
Didn’t know the route that he was taking
Would lead him inevitably back

To a path that had been skied before.

Standing on the fulcrum of decision
Each departure seems to take forever.
Knowing what it means to ski alone
Means knowing what it means to ski together.

So choose a path you have not skied before

And throw your weight into each endeavour,
Avoid the crowded piste and jump the queues,
Leave fresh tracks as if they’ll last forever,
And we can ski beside you if you choose.

And ski like we have skied this path before,
Ski like we might ski this path forever.