14,408

14,408

Rainier loomed large
on the cusp of my
childhood;
out an elementary school window,
over a back fence,
at the end of a street,
reflected in lakes;
and always depicted
on phone book covers.

We were all devout
mountain watchers,
because it is not on displaye
very single day.

Much of the time
it is swaddled in cumulus,
hidden,
leaving the horizon flat;
perhaps
snatched by playful giants,
gone for several days,
probably placed in a distant land,
or a nearby dimension,
where others could also marvel
at its majesty;
only to reappear one morning,
snow ablaze with sunrise,
like a red spirit,
all tall and raspberryand mystical.

You were not reared
in its shadow,
and yet how respectful and loving
you greet it,
as you would an old friend;
as if across the vastness of the ages,
through other eyes,
you embraced its singular immensity
before.


Glenn Buttkus 1993