A Portion of Success                                                                 

John Zedolik

I chose the wrong trail

while ascending Angel Island

so missed the summit in my

parsed-out time though I did

glimpse the top where 

eponyms take flight or alight

whom a pilgrim might see

if in the correct loft of mind

even upon a false path, a fire

lane, only circling the crown

like a tonsure in reverse,

the eucalyptus massing

dark and dream-thick on each

side to confound the climber

on a sweating quest to the apex

commanding the attendant bay,

where near-heaven meets earth

at a sharp final edge, a port

for destinations down and up

whose node will bestow

a blessing even upon the hoofer,

head befuddled and point unachieved.