![\"Solo](\"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Solo-Cliff-Climbing-by-James-Gering.jpg\")
<\/h2>\n<\/h2>\nby James Gering<\/p>\n
If Aaron falls from the low crux,
\nhe breaks a leg, but higher will have
\nthe reapers exulting.
\nHe cruises passes the crux,
\ntraverses diagonally up the rock,
\ncommits to the steep ar\u00eate.<\/p>\n
Josie, watching from the base,
\nasks her bloke one last time to accept
\na safety rope, like a sane climber.
\nBut why, he muses \u2013 the sandstone
\nis caressing his fingers,
\nhis head is in the zone.<\/p>\n
Nearing the summit,
\nAaron stretches for a pivotal hold,
\nbut misses by a fingernail.
\nHe backs off and rests by alternating his feet
\non a hold the size of a domino.<\/p>\n
A dreaded tremor starts up in one leg
\nand the reapers get word.
\nThey rock up, whooping,
\npile out of their hearse and undertake
\nto cajole Aaron into their car.<\/p>\n
Last time Aaron had reached the summit
\nof a solo climb, the dog had slunk off,
\nthe endorphins shimmied and he\u2019d hoped
\nfor sky-drenched love with Josie,
\nbut she recoiled and gave him the ultimatum.<\/p>\n
Sweat now beads his temples.
\nThe reapers lick the soles of his Sportivas
\nand flirt with his fingertips.
\nThe trees on the ground appear tiny,
\nJosie too, arms folded, not looking.<\/p>\n
Must get the feet higher, Aaron whispers,
\nbreathing deep. The rock exudes
\na warm, gun-powdery scent,
\nstrangely uplifting.
\nHis breathing steadies. The tremor stops.<\/p>\n
Now his hands and feet work
\nin concert through the final moves.
\nThe reapers, jeering, pile back
\ninto their vehicle and drive away.<\/p>\n
Aaron lies on the rocky platform
\nat the top, open to heaven,
\nwaiting for celestial bands to play,
\ndancers to sashay in.
\nNothing.<\/p>\n
He moves to the edge and scans
\nthe drop. No Josie at the bottom.
\nThen Aaron sees her:
\nsoloing the pathway out.<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n
I have been an avid writer of short stories and poems for many years. In 2005, I completed an MA in fiction with honours at Macquarie University, Sydney.
\nA number of my stories and poems have won awards and been published in Australia and overseas.<\/p>\n
Reading and writing poetry and fiction is my lifeblood.<\/p>\n
When not writing poems and stories or reading those of other writers, I teach English at The University of Sydney, enjoy the company of my two boys, and the natural wonders of the Blue Mountains near Sydney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have been an avid writer of short stories and poems for many years. In 2005, I completed an MA in fiction with honours at Macquarie University, Sydney.
\nA number of my stories <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[408],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-poems"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}