Climbing Out
As I was falling,
I reached out for familiar branches,
Branches once so strong and supportive.
When my hand touched one
I could not grasp the smooth worn surface.
I reached for another.
The dead wood gave way to my weight.
Another only broke my skin
with sharp barbs.
Some branches slowed my descent
but couldn't stop the plunging.
I reached for new growth.
Untested limbs.
In my desperation I grabbed.
Smaller, but more supple in its newness.
Bending to my weight, but supporting me.
Following its growth,
I learned a new way out.
Thank God that branch was there.
Reaching out to me as I reached out to it.
Font size:
Submitted on March 24, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 4 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDEFGHIJAKLMENKOPQ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 588 |
Words | 110 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 20 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Climbing Out" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/68204/climbing-out>.
Discuss the poem Climbing Out with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In