Switch back runner
dark grey Focus
clouds thickening as we make our approach.
I, the anxious copilot to the notorious captain's second run, lay still.
We meet the summit to overlook the city below.
Nestled between the mountain tops, we wind the streets
in search of known refuge.
Though these are friends I have yet to meet, they are friends no less.
We roll slowly to the curb, the joy that the climb is complete.
The celebration shall ensue. The music is loud, but smooth.
The drinks are delighful.
Our spirits and our minds take flight.
As if true nirvana has graced our lives.
Though my bedroll was that of concrete, my new-found camaraderie kept me warm.

I awoke softly as the sun rose.
I knew that I must soon make descent to the life I maintained at sealevel.
All the goodbyes were made, and all the "see-you-later's" were promised.
We gathered once more in the faithful steed that had let us rise above the cotton of the sky.
The trip was silent.
Words were hard to muster, knowing the end of this glorious journey into the heavens.
And I knew
as my shoes began to fill with familiar sand
My short trip to the blue would not be my last.
Though my happiness is not dependent on my location, my friends are on the other side of those peaks.
And friendship is worth the climb.