Stairway to the sun

I climbed the stairway to the sun
To fill my eyes with burning gold.
But oh the sky was dank and dark,
And there the air was damp and cold,
And down below the earth shone bright.
I sat and stared in wonder. Then,
I crawled back down – I don’t think I
Will climb those stairs again.
--Shel Silverstein


This stairway goes to the top of a reservoir that sits above a spillway so the workers can see the water level. Large tree limbs sometimes flow down the river and over the top of the spillway.