The mountains in front of me are the lightest shade of pink as the sun sets in the west. Against the baby blue sky, the clouds and snow-capped peaks punctuate and command the eye upward, to where the Milky Way waits quietly overhead.
Once, I caught a glimpse of you across the great divide. And then you were gone. I knew the moment by heart; not my first rodeo. And then, there was just me; without anyone to call home. I went searching high and low for some semblance of you. No luck.
I returned. Clawed my way out of the bottom, up the slippery slopes that got me there. You were not waiting when I arrived. Not to be expected - how would you be? No one could survive that. I don't blame you for leaving a dead carcass to lie.
But rise above I have and rise above I shall. It is time. Time to fill the moon and count the stars. Ashes spread across my face like warrior paint, I have battled and I have won. Be a witness to the uprising that is me. I know you know.
I see across the great divide.