The First

Sir Edmund Hillary

is born anew this day

in the crocuses

that rise against all odds

adventurers blazing a trail

through the snow

while the timid wait

for more hospitable conditions

content with the comfort

of solid ground

but the tiny white buds

push on with the goal of

touching the sky

upward they climb

stretching towards the peak

flags unfurled

and so gain the glory

of the first full bloom