Poetry: The Mountain

THE MOUNTAIN

"By order of the Earth, come forth,"
     the Mountain commanded,
Its huge voice resembling the wind
Storming through boundless stands of virgin timber.
I crept closer
And with repentant eyes
Surveyed the cold immensity of that
     Mountain face.
Staring toward me with majesty
     humbling my very soul, it reprimanded,
"You think yourself unworthy to be a part
     of the same world as I?"
"But," I pleaded, sweat dampening my brow,
"You stand vast and eternal,
Mankind has looked upon your rocky visage
     from the dawn of time
With wonder.
As ruler over all you see,
You know all, and live forever.
How can I compare?"

The Mountain seemed to smile,
Dislodging a pebble from the corner
     of its rugged mouth
"No, my child, only God is eternal.
For all His creations there is a time
     and a place.
Even I have a beginning
     and an end."

"Could you impart some of your wisdom
     to me?" I pleaded again.
"One small insight into the meaning
     of existence;
One thing to be thankful for?"

"Surely, my child,
Let us go down into the valley
     where the stream trickles through,
To gaze upon the elk and the deer.
The summer breeze will warm us,
And my wisdom will be all
     for you to hear."

I began to journey, but after several steps
Turned toward the silence at my back.
The Mountain, stony and immobile,
     watched me with sorrowfulness.
Its waterfall,
Which had once been an echo
     of a mighty voice
Had become a torrent of tears.

"Perhaps you begin to understand?"
     the Mountain queried
Its voice now seeming a
     windless whisper.

I turned and started down the mountain
Amazed at the infinity mobility
Within my two
Small feet.