Steady On Our Pins

Good thing we old codgers
have invested in sturdy limbs
and reliable lung capacity,
honed over dedicated years of
exploring nature's geology and
seasons through mountain climbing,
exhilarating hikes, canoeing and
portaging lakes and rivers
and their connecting byways.

Rendering us fearlessly fit
to risk life and limb. For
this is an unusual Spring,
in the depths of cranky Winter still,
afflicted with season-extreme
cold and bitterly flagellating winds,
where snow is loathe to go
and the melt a coldly brilliant sun
negotiates turns rigidly to
all-encompassing ice ways,
the length and breadth
we have never before seen.

So we teeter and twist,
seek footing advantage on the
glass-slick surface resistant even
to our cleat-shod boots.
Invigorating, the lengthy
ramble, exciting our endurance,
relieving, our success in
adroitly evading disaster.