Peak Experience

by A. A. Kostas

PEAK EXPERIENCE

in a series of sukiah, or inverted haikus

the triangulated peak

a void within

salmon-bellied sunset sky

a formal absence that forces

my eye to invert

ascension as a steep drop

what I believed was crowning

was the lowliest—

the peak as collapsed ending

my triumphant victory

plummets and folds up

becoming a pit of hell

what if each glory I claim

is another nail?

your body spiked on the peak?

can I say that I believe

in the inverted

kingdom and seek my apex?

(I am a pyramid scheme

all roads lead to me

cross-avoider to my shame)

the base of the mountain is

a holy place too—

the land of lived reverence

can I look to the mountain

and refuse to climb

remain humbled before you?

A. A. KOSTAS

A. A. Kostas is a Canadian-Australian poet, writer, and lawyer, currently based in Singapore. His poetry has been published or is forthcoming in Traces Journal, Inkwell, The Clayjar Review, Cordite Poetry Review, Vessels of Light, and Calla Press Journal. He is also a contributing editor for Traces Journal. His website is aakostas.com, and his Substack newsletter, blending poetry and prose, can be found at waymarkers.substack.com.