Children are climbing up the stairs;
Against the hill their bodies gleam,
Round in the heat, high in the air,
Like pearls that rise through viscous green.
Though to the climbers themselves, it seems
They are forgotten, lost from sight
In the Jungle of the Night;
Entangled, only those who dare
Make their way in the flickering light.
Ahead: a clearing, the head of the stairs,
And mastery of the wilderness they fight;
Theirs is the victory, and there
They step bewildered into glare.