Showing posts with label bravery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bravery. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The Mountains Taught

They protected you with danger,
those High Sierra Mountains.

Cliffs and snakes, rockslides,
flooded rivers, icy narrow
twisting highways, dirt
roads cut casually into hills,
hours between you and a
doctor or hospital. Chainsaws,
knives, guns, lightning,
freezing temperatures. 

Wherever you went, 
whatever you did, you kept
caution in your pocket
like a talisman. You quickly
came to equate useless
risk with lack of thought,
not with bravery. 

Hans Ostrom 2024