Climbing

Along the cliff top,

I watch the land wash into the sea-

So willing to give up all it can’t contain,

And so I, too,

Let it all dissolve in salty tears.

I stand above to view it all below,

To understand from the distance,

To gain balance in the perspective,

To weigh up the commonality of my woes

With the world and it’s complexities

And I open myself

To let the waste wash away.

I descend-

Unburdened, unchained

And thread the soft sands

And in every grain feel not a pain

But an unbridled possibility.

I wade out on the tide

And watch the sun’s luminous rays dance on the waves

And I sway as it’s motions

Match my movements-

No longer held, no longer bound, no longer beached.

I dive deeper into the mind

And let every worry

Seep to the surface,

Feel its freedom

And finally float away.

—

All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly