Raising the Bar

The bar has been raised,

The ladder climbs high in the sky

Nervously I cling to the next rung,

afraid my hand might slip,

and I might fall short

of the high expectations.

Feeling the rung below with my foot, 

I check to make sure my footing is secure,

I reach up, grasping carefully,

Secure my footing again,

reaching for the next rung,

hoping I can climb the tall ladder,

placed before me.

In the middle of my climb,

I am asked to pull my peers up, too,

nudge them along,

help them climb this sky scraping ladder

Kids are on this ladder, too,

No longer climbing the kid ladder of the jungle gym,

they, too, must climb the grown up sky scraping ladder,

Make the grade,

Pass the tests,

Walk the walk,

Manage themselves,
stay the course,
letting go of child's play.

I have farther to fall,

I have a great distance to climb,

and I must carry others with me.

Please don't let the ladder topple over.