On the Peak

small

     orange

    burnt-red edges 

    and a yellow center 

   climbs up from the dirt 

 on the mountain ridge 

                in knots 

             collections of 

                 pale flowers 

            like dandelions hold 

                    smaller 

                         crimson 

       berries bursting among 

                   the rock rubble 

                              of centuries 

                         eroding 

           unbeknownst to time 

    i walk heavy 

         muscles straining 

    against the incline 

    panting against the silence 

                 into the crisp 

                              brisk breath 

                of the white wet cloud 

   out of it 

        i approach the tip 

           and emerge above 

              and into the cobalt sky 

where 

there is a stagnation 

an isolation 

on the peak of the mountain 

inside the alpine forest 

you hear 

a colossal 

breath 

as the whole of the earth below 

   settles.

About the Author

Siobhan Dougherty is a transfer student and Cultural Anthropology major at Arcadia University. They have a minor in creative writing and love writing poetry and painting (as well as other various art forms). They enjoy mountain climbing, cats, baking bread, and Anne Carson.