Mirror Work

The peak that paints the lake
Is quick to break.

A height becomes a depth,
A life a death.

An Eiger sinks beneath
The eager cleat

As seeking shows us what
We sought is not.

To find a seeker’s pleasure
In self-erasure

The mountaineer must wish
Herself to mist.

—Amit Majmudar

Photo by thijser via Creative Commons

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Books for Christmas—2025

George Weigel

Surveys indicate that reading books is dropping precipitously across all age groups. This is a tragedy in…

What We’ve Been Reading—Autumn 2025

The Editors

First Things staff share their most recent autumn reading recommendations.

Walker Percy’s Pilgrimage

Algis Valiunas

People can get used to most anything. Even the abyss may be rendered tolerable—or, for that matter,…