Eighteen hundred feet.
The distance I’d climbed up Machu Picchu Mountain
over stones made slick by the morning rain.
Three hundred feet.
The distance remaining to the summit.
Limits

Ahead
Ascending the mountain, stone steps
three feet wide.
To the left – a sheer drop.
Above the top step – a misty sky.
To the right – more steps?
Or possibly another sheer drop?
Limits

I clutch the rocks on my right,
inhale deeply and exhale.
I smile.
I bend my knees and turn my body to the left
and sit down on the wet stone.

In a few minutes
I will begin the descent
Without looking back toward the summit.
Without making it to the top,
I have reached my limit.