Always Upwards

Always Upwards

There is a backward notion of forward motion

As unending progress and unchecked success

That’s somehow boundaryless

A sunlit field, somewhere in the beyond,

With unfailing yields set out in rows of russet blond

As far as the horizon

And in their perfect form, these pictures swirl in our heads

The force of hope alone that can coax us from bed

Squinting up at the reflection of a thousand suns

Glinting from every angle

Shimmering, towering metals

Have sprung up like flowering petals

Our eye-watering obelisks,

When we survey our surroundings and blink,

Are changing and yet changeless, or so we think

Because we cannot remember a time before

Because we are stupid and vain

But soil and rust lie in wait, as they must,

‘Til it’s safe to attack, ‘til they sense the first crack

They bide their time

With a patience that does not wane

But for just now

Everything is smooth and glossy and almost perfect

As the asphalt ripples, mercurial in the heat

And I am caught up in the constant procession

Of the rhythm of your feet

Climbing the stairs

Always upwards. Always upwards. Always upwards…

Forever and always upwards.