Block

Rapt with emotion,
desperation,
the blinding expanse of strident white
lies ahead.
An unforgiving air stings.
Each movement upward a thrash of merciless pain,
each graphite stain one more stroke toward completion.
A fleeting consciousness begs me to turn back.

Finally,
locked in a reverie of awe and disbelief,
perched at the top of the mountain,
anguish abated by the realization of fulfillment,
I peer below at my footsteps,
and the block's surpassed.