My birthday,
\n28 years, undistinguished.
\nCold January, signs of rain to come.
\nOur day off, just one a week.
\nI drove, I always drove.<\/p>\n
If I remember
\nwe had the Dewerstone to ourselves.
\nJust me and Clarkie.
\nOr at least that\u2019s how it now seems.
\nHis treat, my present.<\/p>\n
Climbers’ Club, ordinary,
\nhard, very severe.
\nWe kitted up at the bottom,
\nsmoked for a while,
\nthen Clarkie set off.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s got an odd style.
\nNot strong, poised,
\ndelicate for such a big man.
\nI hardly remember the first pitch.
\nJust sense of steepness,
\ngood holds marked by years of passage.<\/p>\n
The belay was a ledge, not big, big enough. He grinned, set off again. Soon I was sat next to him on the ledge. The rain fell, heavy. We stopped there for a while, It was, and remains I can see us now, still there, The rest of the climb, My birthday, 28 years, undistinguished. Cold January, signs of rain to come. Our day off, just one a week. I drove, I always drove. If I remember we had the Dewerstone to ourselves. Just me and Clarkie. Or at least … Continue reading
\nWe fumbled about, rearranged the gear.
\nClarkie offered me the lead
\n\u201cGo on it\u2019s easy this one\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve not done it before you arse,
\nso how do you know?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
\nThen the ropes pulled at me,
\nreluctantly I unclipped the belay.
\nNot a hard pitch, as it turns out.
\n(Could I have lead it? We’ll never know now.)<\/p>\n
\nCozy in a niche. Clipped in,
\nand a sudden strong rain blew over the crag.
\nDown to the woods, and the river Plym.
\nTwo hundred feet below our heels.<\/p>\n
\nIt blew and blustered.
\nWe sat safe, strung to the rock,
\nshelterd in our erie<\/p>\n
\nentranced, we laughed at squalls.
\nTold tales, shared smokes.
\nBut mainly just watched the rain fall.
\nA blessing.<\/p>\n
\nthe most sublime moment of my life.
\nAn eternity in five minutes
\nof absolute tranquility and joy.<\/p>\n
\neternally blessed by the moment.<\/p>\n
\npassed without event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"