Mt. Rainier Sunrise Song

First Appeared in Northwest Prime Time

Luscious taste of summer,
ripe peach sunshine
melts through my lips
with each lovely bite, as
Tahoma’s summit glistens white
against the blue August sky.

One step then another and another–
on the forest duff,
I’m a sure-footed walker
in the chamber of the gods,
reclaiming my former self.

Buoyant ions lift my mood
from the exile of injuries, surgery,
and political assaults.

I look beyond the summit
to a brighter future,
emerging from darkness
endorphins awakened,
limbs moving, mind dancing––
again.

Laura Celise Lippman