LIE LOW

I stood at the foot

of the mountain

and gazed skyward.

I bent my neck

as far back as I could.

Clouds engulfed the peak.

I had neither the desire

nor the drive

to climb to the top.

Even if I succeeded

in scaling those heights, 

I knew that in the end

it would not be worth the effort.

I turned and looked

in the opposite direction.

A grassless and treeless plain

stretched toward the horizon

and disappeared in the distance.

If I started walking,

where would I be going?

And would I ever arrive there?

If I did arrive there,

would I be satisfied

that I had made

the right choice?

I was caught

between a rock

and a hard place.

I sat down.

It seemed to be

the logical deduction

based on the absurdity

of my circumstances.

She had brought me here

with only this advice:

"Lie low."