Gradient Descent

We trudge through trees in the wilderness. Seeking destination unknown.
By sense and inkling of glory we reckon.
Down hill. That way!  Then we’ll see.
Keep going. Down, down, down.
Like untold generations before us, seeking.
Like Moses in the desert, seeking.
We crash through thickening brush. Getting closer.
Elk glides silently away.
A cliff!  What? Find your way. Keep going.
Gradient descent. Flowing downhill. Feeling our way inch by inch.
Canyon carved by massive forces. Driven by gravity, down.
Soul of rock speaks eons past. By-gone worlds, sculpted by hidden hand.
Forest numinous. Ancient beings, watching, watching, watching.
Hoping. Hoping. Hoping we find, not just down – but beyond.