The Modern Monkey-Rope (Sports Challenge)

by [pens&feathers]

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I looked up at him from the floor, wondering how it was that he could climb so high with so little to hold on to.

The room had an extremely high ceiling. The walls were covered with artifical rock hand-holds. It smelled like sweat and Vitamin Water and chalk hand-dust. His green eyes flickered as he looked down at me, at the floor. His muscular arms searched the wall for something higher, something firmer to hold on to.

And I found myself, standing there with this rope hooked into my climing harness, wondering how he could trust me enough to hold his life in my hands. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to relax until his feet touched the ground, until I knew that he was safe.

I couldn’t bear the thought that I could ever let him fall, that I might one day let him down, let the rope slip.

And isn’t it such, with life? Everyone, clipped together, not with carabiners and rope but with emotions and shared experience and togetherness.

Trusting that the person standing on the floor won’t let us fall.

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. The Modern Monkey-Rope (Sports Challenge)

    Storykeeper of Fae's Buddy Icon Storykeeper of Fae

    Posted 8 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I love metaphors. You get five stars just for that.

  2. The Modern Monkey-Rope (Sports Challenge)

    [pens&feathers]'s Buddy Icon [pens&feathers]

    Posted 8 months ago

    Thank you! This was actually inspired by the chapter “The Monkey-Rope” in Moby Dick, in which Queequeg and Ishmael are connected by a rope. I love the metaphor, and I think it’s got a lot of modern applications.

  3. The Modern Monkey-Rope (Sports Challenge)

    someday_93's Buddy Icon someday_93

    Posted 8 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I love the metaphor too, amazing! And I love this, not just about sports but about life, as well. Brilliant!
    LoA

  4. The Modern Monkey-Rope (Sports Challenge)

    SKermitgorf's Buddy Icon SKermitgorf

    Posted 8 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    very cool glad i never had to climb that rope in h.s.

  5. The Modern Monkey-Rope (Sports Challenge)

    yoITSme's Buddy Icon yoITSme

    Posted 8 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    excellent. i lovee vitamin water

  6. The Modern Monkey-Rope (Sports Challenge)

    Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy's Buddy Icon Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy

    Posted 8 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I remember that Moby Dick chapter. What an analogy. Excellently written!
    -Mrs. D.

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