My Climb Lacks Grace, by Mike Young

Untitled Albert Artwell Artist Postcard with Books, photograph courtesy of poet. Albert Artwell (Jamaica) Contemporary.

​My Climb Lacks Grace

My climb lacks grace and practiced ease.
I am a veteran of maples and oaks –
trees with limbs and craggy-barked toe-holds.
Still, the effort isn’t lost.
The distance gained
confirms what could only be guessed at
from below:
the odd red fruit, like strawberries,
hangs sweet and ripens most heart-shaped
where deeply hidden.

The moist tropic air stirs
with the promise of a precious harvest.
A frond dips downward.

Across the blue sky
the fear of loving
and the fear of being loved
like two black birds
are on the wing.

​Mike Young

Mike Young lives in Washington, DC, with his wife, Missy. They have raised two sons. In addition to working with non-profit organizations to advance racial equity and build communities where children and youth thrive, he enjoys hiking in Rock Creek National Park.