Real as my veins.

Skiddaw, Lake District

I’m not dreaming out loud;
I’m telling you now
That where I’m going to be
Is on top of the world.

And to see what I’ll see
Is to see dreams I’ve pinned:
As real as my veins
Yet as free as the wind.

When I wrote this poem, it was in the early hours of the morning; the sun hadn't risen and I was engulfed by darkness as I lay in a bivvy bag on the summit of the beautiful mountain Skiddaw, in the Lake District. My Dad and I had hiked the mountain in the dead of night, so Dad could help some friends on the Bob Graham Round; it was an amazing exprience!

The storm, the 50mph winds and the thrashing rain made me feel so exhilerated; so alive. So when we reached the summit at 2AM, squirmed into our bivvy bags and simply lay listening to the steady pounding of the rain and the howling of the wind, I felt inspired. Beyond inspired. I felt on top of the world....

And so I wrote this poem, and as I remembered it the next day as we decended, now under clear blue skies and a striking sun, it seemed so perfect in showing how I felt as I had lain contented in my bivvybag, on the summit of life...