How I Stay Cheerful

To the mountain that is stalking me, that mountain of odds,
I say: get in front of me; don’t sneak around! I start climbing it,
though I cannot walk. Because I cannot walk, I grip it
with all my might though I can hardly use my hands.
One day I am turning a corner, or negotiating
a steep section, or just resting for a moment
— oh! it’s a view I have never seen before.
I could not see it before I decided to climb,
and climbing the mountain, I get back some
of what I lost, and climbing the mountain gives me
something to do every day, and something to do every day
to be better saves me, and so to the mountain of odds
I also say: though you are massive, I thank you,
for there is no end now to the work.