Eyes Up
A Sonnet From The Base Of The Mountain
Photo by Oles Borys on Unsplash
The following poem was first published towards the end of last year in “To The Mountains,” the beautiful 2025 Fall Collection by the good folk at The Way Back To Ourselves. I am incredibly grateful to them for their generous preface to my poem:
“With masterful attention to the form of the sonnet and the condition of humankind, Matthew White calls us to stand at the base of the mountain with him in “Eyes Up.””
I hope my poem comes to you as a welcome companion on this hazardous journey of ascents and descents that each of us must navigate. May we never forget to look up!
“I lift up my eyes to the mountains —
where does my help come from?”
Psalm 121.1 (NIV)
You can read “Eyes Up” below or by clicking here.
Eyes Up
Resplendent stands that stoic stony crag
Above foreboding haunts as call below.
This jagged judge awash with brooding black;
A lofty friend to ridge and tarn and snow.
We whisper sacred secrets to ourselves—
Lament how time defaced our former sheen.
We sing an ode to travellers who fell
Whose final moments only mountains see.
Eyes up and up and up until that rock
Slides past my doubts and smooths my weathered soul,
Though torrid paths still try their best to block
Tired pilgrims primed for nothing but a stroll.
Such ancient grandeur strikes awe to this day
By giving back the breath it takes away.
This poem was generated by the author’s human mind with zero AI / LLM involvement.
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I am truly thankful to everyone who chooses to spend some of their precious time here. Your presence is a gift. Thank you again!
If you missed last week’s poetic offering, you can read “Ghosts Of Dublin” via the link below:
Beautiful composed and thought-provoking