Jordan's Poem

Knowing this young man and sharing part of his journey makes this poem all the more meaningful.  Thanks, Jordan..

Approaching the towering steeples, gods of stone,
Their shadows, fierce and cold.
Rising high.
The kings sit, rugged, on their thrones.

The climb grows steeper, the vast cliffs, unearthly.
The mountain seems to lure you,
Dare you enter.
While sentinels await the unworthy.

But upon the pass, the gods see you, let you stay,
They know the struggle of the climb,
The journey.
They show the paths they once took, and send you on your way

As the journey wanes, the guardians bid you adieu,
You've shown the might, strength, faith,
That the kings require.
And the mountains leave their gift, their heart, locked deep inside of you.

And as you stand within their shadow, back in the world below,
Not fierce, but gripping, grasping,
Upon your heart,
Their fingers fell, and the gods will not let go.

For it is not in the crowd, 'mid tumultuous noise,
Where kings come to their glory,
But in the mountains, where on thrones sit,
The gods that once were boys.

--Jordan Housholder