Living in the mirage

I was beautiful, I know it
Now that I am not
I was living, I know it
All zeal now laid to rest

It was the mountain climbing
That gave my cheeks a bloom
And the trials looming
That lent my steps a tune

I left all else behind me
People, places, songs
I left my nest and said good bye
My smile I did not veil

I picked a far-flung mountain
Where men lived and let live
I craved an existence unknown
Known faces, times, to drown

Too soon I reached my summit
My mountain 'neath my feet
I tied my tent down sturdy
And called that summit home

I waited for the chimes to peal
Heralding bliss 'n glee
I had it all; a fairy tale
Why then do spirits fail

I looked back down the path I came
My feet had left no trail
I willed to silence doubts that grew
Was I falling up this hill

The stars are closer to my reach
But how less brighter seem
Though freed from bindings of my birth
Caught in webs thus far unseen

When mists blow off and spirits soar
I find some mountains new
But now I know what lies in store
And so I climb no more!

- Aval