A passion that fuels
Is one that burns brightly
Words by Devin Dabney. Photos by Angelique Brown. Published in Volume 13 of The Zine, now available.
The small space
Between boredom and anxiety
Where we form notoriety for lack of sobriety
and zero propriety for standard society
Many try to capture the essence—
To absorb its teachings and emanate its power—
And yet, even those who succeed continue to try.
The raggedness, the ruggedness
Endless resilience against ceaseless toil,
Unstoppable meeting immovable.
An existence where outsiders become insiders,
Where persistence is its own reward
Where there is vindication in failure.
Success is followed by emptiness,
Then a primal desire for a primeval fire
Propelled to repeat the cycle as a compelled
Complete disciple, in pursuit of the climb
Where the moves on a line are the truths that we find
For our youth
For all time.
Photo of the author by Angelique Brown
Devin Dabney is currently a route setter and climbing instructor at Hoosier Heights Indianapolis and is secretly working on becoming the best rapper alive so that he can write for dope magazines like The Climbing Zine. You can find some of his work at deuceishiphop.bandcamp.com. You can also witness more of his climbing and rap shenanigans on Instagram account @deuceishiphop.
Dig the words? Keep the dream alive by subscribing to The Climbing Zine. It’s $19.99 a year for three issues, and $37.99 for two years (six issues).
About us: The Climbing Zine was started in 2010 by Al Smith III and Luke Mehall. It continues to the day with the mission of representing the true essence of climbing. Our crown jewel is our printed version, but we also do the interweb thing, and Kindle.
We have also published five books: Graduating From College Me, American Climber, The Great American Dirtbags , Climbing Out of Bed, and Squeak Goes Climbing In Yosemite National Park (a climbing children’s book) .
Check out our film, Last Thoughts on The Dirtbag, made with Cairns Film.
