In Which I Like My Poem, but Accidentally Fell Asleep

Obstacle

There was an impassible
obstacle
back there
somewhere.

I guess when it was labeled
insurmountable
they weren't banking
on me bridging the gap
between stone walls
with my body
and bending myself
over boulders.

I'd have reached back
to bring you out
of the dark, damp
confines
where cool walls shade
moisture and moss
from the sizzle of the sun,

but you're not here.
Nobody is,
since when I overcame
the indomitable
I did it alone.

So now the place
I've attained,
by wedging my body,
working slowly upward,
this place
with its royal rock,
this place
spread out and shining,
belongs to nobody
but me.

And back there,
somewhere,
is a boulder
assuring my solitude,
keeping you
in the sunless
slot,
a slit in the ground
I step over
while exploring
the vastness
just an impossible leap
above.

Poem:
This is a personal favorite of the ones I've written, and one of the only ones I've really liked that didn't get in to Iowa State's literary magazine. So since I'm too tired to write a new one, I decided to share this with you to make up for the fact that it didn't make it in the real world. If you can explain why, that would be pretty cool. I'm open to criticism (which is only slightly false, since I want to think I'm open to criticism, even though I'm kind of bad at taking it). I remember trying really hard at the alliteration (and being impressed at my efforts), but I'm still not sure about some of the line breaks. I wrote the poem about a trail in Capitol Reef National Park, and it was spectacular. Hiking in the slot canyons was a pretty fun adventure in its own right, but climbing out of them up on top where everything was just empty and waiting was breathtaking. I didn't actually do it alone, by the way. I showed my family how to maneuver themselves up and out of the narrow crevasse, and sharing the experience was pretty cool. However, the trail said it ended at the part where we executed our tricky procedure, and I really liked the idea that that one spot probably deprives hundreds of people from sharing the amazing vistas that lie beyond.

Observation:
Today I was asked to help replace some lightbulbs at work. This required a ladder, which is kept in what my boss called the "custodial office." Now, with a name like custodial office, I briefly envisioned a desk, carpeting, and some file cabinets or something before remembering that I had actually been to the "office" on previous occasions. In fact, I walk by it almost every day at work, but I very rarely even look at it, much less consider it an office. This is because it is located behind the door to the men's restroom. Like, you open the door, and then you have to close the door behind you, and where the open door used to be is another door with a chemical hazard sign on it. That's the custodial office.
I am amused by this for a couple of reasons. The first is, of course, that whoever decided to put it there obviously just had no regard for women. Now, in a (very) brief defense, the "office" isn't completely inside the bathroom. There are two doors before you wind up at the area with sinks and toilets and stuff. But the sign on the first door doesn't in any way indicate that there is more than one possibility behind it. Nope. It just says "Men." No mention of a "custodial office" whatsoever. So any woman who needs anything to do with maintenance either has to get a man to help her or be seen walking into a door that only looks like it goes to the bathroom.
Which brings me to the second reason this is a pretty funny arrangement. Let's say this layout was intentional and not done out of pure stupidity. Now, you might be thinking this probably means the person who made the decision was incredibly sexist against women, but I've been thinking a bit and I'm not so sure. Yes, the way it is implies that men are the only ones capable of janitorial work, but who ever said that that was something to be proud of? Last I checked there weren't that many people thrilled to be doing that job. So in a way, the person who put that door there was just saying something like this: "Women are too good for this job. Plus, this gives them an excuse to get a man to do more for them. First they ask for help getting the supplies, since they couldn't possibly be seen going into the men's room, and then they can use a man's sense of chivalry to involve them in the actual task as well."
So the way I see it, this could have been craftily thought of as a way to manipulate men into doing all the dirty work while women are afforded the opportunity to sit back and watch. It's a slippery slope, and it starts with "can you get me something from the custodial office?" After that it's an inevitable progression of events. The man asks what they're doing, and as long as it's not decorating, he feels obligated to help (or thinks to himself that it's no job for a lady). But really, it's probably just some guy who never even thought of a woman needing access to that stuff.

Exercise:
"Clarice"
Use this as your opening line: "Clarice was the kind of kid who picked out the soft insides of the bun."

Clarice was the kind of kid who picked out the soft insides of the bun. If pressured about this fact, she might say the soft stuff tasted better, but the real reason was that biting into the crispy crust made her think of cracking into an insect. Plus, it made a shower of flaky crumbs, which only served to remind her of her mother's mild scolding when she didn't use a plate and the crumbs landed on the freshly scrubbed kitchen floor. Clarice didn't like being reminded of either of those things. Bugs were gross, and she was only just beginning to grow accustomed to her mother's absence. She still couldn't get an answer from her father when she asked where mommy had gone. He just ruefully shook his head, and when she started to cry, said something about mommy being okay and still loving her, which really didn't solve anything at all. But Clarice made sure that no crumbs fell from the shells of her buns, just in case.

Me:
I've been getting these spells recently where I get a bit faint-headed, and while it offers some excitement to an otherwise mundane day, I'm not sure it's the sort of adventure I need. I don't feel ill, so I'm attributing it mostly to a lack of sleep. So when it happened again recently I stopped writing my post, closed my eyes to wait for it to pass, and then woke up a while later to an unfinished entry. Well, it's obviously done now, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, so this section isn't too interesting. I guess I'll just use it to say you should all follow me on Twitter. Wait, that's a lie. Don't do that. It's just that everywhere I look on the internet these days, people are asking their readers/viewers to do that, and I don't know why. I do have a Twitter account. It has no followers and has never been used. So I guess you can follow me on Twitter, but I really wouldn't recommend it. I'm amazed enough that you're reading this, to be honest. So thanks, and if you have anything you want to comment on, by all means do.