On Mountain Paths I Travel

Poetry by Mark G. Knox

On mountain paths I travel
To vistas yet unseen
Through Rhododendron corridors
On trails of evergreen
Through alpine glades and meadows
Along the rushing creek
By switchback after switchback
Until I reach the peak

On mountain paths I travel
Yet leaving not a trace
Save only footprints from my boot
On every special place
I hike and plod and trudge and slog
Beneath my laden pack
I lay it down at end of day
And rest my weary back

On mountain paths I travel
The goal was not to find
Some great new destination
Myself I must remind
The lesson to be savored
When the day is done
The joy is in the journey
And in the end, home