Soon Enough

You know when you climb so high

That the air feels younger

But perhaps it's only because

Of how much older you feel

Having made it to the top

That it only tastes so fresh

Smells so clean

Because of how hard

You worked to reach it

Like simple foods

Becoming richer from the hunger

Maybe no experience

Can ever be taken on its own merits

For it exists, as we approach it

Only by our approach

Not to say that we create the experience

But rather in the process

Of our own selves being created

The reality

Of each moment is diluted

By all that we carry with us

And that's why the air feels so new

When you reach the top of a long climb

Because you've been heaving

Under the weight of all that

Old air

And by the time you reach the peak

Well, in fact the only way to reach the peak

Is to be completely exhausted

Of all that brought you there

Left collapsed and

Stripped bare

Carrying only the scars

From ripping off your chains

And letting go of the baggage

That had made it so hard to climb

But soon enough

Even those will heal

And all that will be left

To remind you of who you are

Is what's holding you up

Lifting you toward who you will become