The dawn rises above the mountaintop. I watched as the bright ball of fire peaks the crisp glacial peaks of the mighty rocks. The glistening sparkles of the snow covered mounds dance across the bright blue morning sky. This is the only good thing in my day. I cherish every morning. The views before me are the only thing keeping me alive on this frozen landscape.

By noon, the winds will pick up and the snow will drop. The day shall be brutally cold and dark. The air is so very thin and the ground so very hard. I do not know how long I will last. Why did God put me here? I cannot move to warmer climate, I do not know where that is. All I can do is wait for the ice to melt.

If I can hold out until the ice melts, everything will be okay. I will be warmer and drier. I may be able to live a little longer. But that dream is so far away. The ice does not melt fast enough. I do not know how long I have. I pray to you great creator, why am I here? Why am I to suffer these stones and these roots unable to move? You taunt me each morning with hope only to crush it with darkness more black than the bright of day.

All I know is the concept of waiting. To take action, I cannot. I am rooted into my ways, gnarled and bent. I am weak and thin and surrounded by snow with so little water, my sustenance freezes long before I can consume it. I dream of one day to have abundant water. But that takes patience. I will wait as long as I can God.

The sun is now high above the mountains. It feels warmer today than yesterday. I turned my attention to the ice below. It is creeping up, day by day. It was farther down the mountain so long ago. I can see the rocks and some greens. Life is slowly growing where the ice once was. I am a little more cheerful each day I wait. The promised day is coming.

There is movement near the ice’s border. It is those creatures that come out when the ice and snow become bearable. That means there will be no blizzard today. This is truly one of the good days. They sure have traveled a long way from their habitat. I wonder what brings them this far up the mountain. It is too bad they cannot understand me.

They are just animals, unable to think into the future and only move with instinct. Their only worry is to figure out how where to get their next meal from. For the most part, these creatures don’t even have to worry about that. They eat just about anything. They are peculiar, they get so very close, they are not even scared when I shout or yell or move. They are very docile and calm, always with a look of wonder in their eyes as they come up the mountain, almost like they have never seen ice before.

I envy them; they can move in constructs of metal when it’s cold and view the beauties while warm. I cannot go anywhere. And If I could, where would I go? I have no skills to do anything but sit and wait for the warmth to come. God has not equipped me with anything else. However I will continue to use what god has given me, patience, and wait this freezing time out. I will wait for warmer times where I can grow and become strong and become the wonder that these animal see instead of the frigid ice. I will be strong and tall one day, but not today.

I will wait to have young ones, I will wait to have family, I will wait to be strong and wait to be warm. All in the hopes of a better tomorrow where I will no longer be alone.

I hope for the day my spirit can be free,

Thus are the wishes of a mountain tree.