Since dawn the sky was low,

no glimpse of you allowed;

now I see you clearly, 

rising through the cloud.

Brave ones dare to climb you,

facing terrors all the way;

but I’m no mountaineer,

down here I will stay!

Teacher’s note:  Mount Cook — Aoraki (its Maori name) — is New Zealand’s highest mountain.  
In 2014, its height was given as 3,724 metres.

Photo by Ginette Pestana