Lately, I have been thoroughly enjoying playing with form in poetry. Our current six-week unit, poetry, has enabled me to freely experiment with the shape of the work I produce. We were recently instructed to write a piece about a vehicle of our choosing. The form of our work must correlate with the vehicle of choice. My poem describes a funicular’s ascent to the summit of a mountain. I wrote twelve rhyming couplets and placed them to depict the steady upward direction in which it travels.

Take one last breath of sea-level air
I promise you will need it to stay aware

Place a cautious foot on wooden planks
now is the time to give your thanks

Don’t look down, please just trust me this time
we are only beginning this climb

Once doors close there is no turning back
zone out to the rhythmic click and clack

Snow covered meadows glisten to your left
heartbeats seem absurdly fast, are you stressed?

Why do your clever eyes appear forlorn
for you should not be feeling such scorn

This is a once-in- a-lifetime experience
do not furrow your brows and appear so furious

Atop the summit, you may sigh
but to the village below, wave goodbye

Hold in your nausea for one more second
the end of the track is nearing, I recon

Look! We made it to the mountain top
wait to get off, your pulse will surely stop

Go on, take a step through the door
I cannot wait to dash off and explore

Emptying its riders atop the peak
trusty funiculars prove not weak

Sequoia Hack, class of 2021