Mountain Light

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Early morning rush to work
Through the city by the bay,
Gleaming arches, shining towers,
Azure skies light the way.

Yet farther off and over all,
Stone ramparts rising high,
Icy shoulders, majestic peak
Glowing gold against the sky.

Falling glaciers, crumbling cliffs,
Sheer walls stark against the blue,
Slopes of white are lit afire by
The coming dawn’s pearly hue.

Mighty mountain, gazing down,
In her shadow have we dwelt,
Heedless of her awful strength,
Beauty, terror, presence felt.

Yet one morning glance upon
Her mist enshrouded face,
City problems drop away,
Forget about the race.

A breathless pause, a moment’s rest,
A pause in time and traffic slow,
Great Tahoma, mighty mother,
Resplendent in her alpenglow.

Embed from Getty Images

28 thoughts on “Mountain Light”

  6. Outstanding job on the imagery. I even learned a new word. I’ve never heard “alpenglow” before, but it’s the perfect word to give readers a true sense of the scene.

    I’m impressed you could find inspiration for a poem this good during a drive to work. It shows that good writers can find topics to write about from anywhere. It almost makes me wish I had to go to work tomorrow. Well, almost, but I’ll get over it pretty quickly. It’ll give me more time to read your blog. Yeah, that’s the reason.

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    • Thank you! The hardest part was hanging on to the image all the way, and then through the process of starting my computer, getting my coffee, chatting with my boss, and checking for urgent emails… I knew I would need to write something down as soon as possible or I would lose it. It doesn’t quite inspire me to want to drive to work again tomorrow, though, either. 🙂

      “Alpenglow” has long been a favorite of mine. I first heard the term about twenty-five years ago while hitchhiking around New Zealand’s Southern Alps. I was in Wanaka, a lesser-known mountain village not too far from the more famous Queenstown, and an older German woman I met used it to describe the scenery there. As you can see, it stuck, both the word, and the sense of awe when encountering it.

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  9. This is way off topic here, but congrats on the Seahawks victory over Denver this afternoon. From the way people in sports media talk, you’d think nothing exists in the universe except for Payton Manning. It brings a smile to my face when other teams show otherwise.

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    • Oh, did we win? Haha, I admit that I haven’t been paying attention today, but thank you. I totally support my teams, and I absolutely love that the Seahawks are the current Superbowl champions (the parade and rally afterwards was INSANE), and yes, I did watch them win that day. However, I admit that otherwise I don’t much follow organized team sports. My idea of an exciting contest to follow is the Around Alone yacht race, and that one takes months to finish.

      Still, though, I love seeing the city rally around the teams, so I’m a big supporter in that way. It probably depends what city you’re in for which sports celebrity gets the most mentions. Around here, it’s all “Richard Sherman” and “Russell Wilson,” and of course lately “Marshawn Lynch.” 🙂

      I felt sorry for Manning at the Superbowl. He seemed to so clearly be a favorite, and of course he has years and years of experience, whereas Wilson is basically a highly talented newbie. The cameras kept focusing in on his face, and he looked pretty devastated.

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