image by don geyer
Mesmer Mount
Rainier always loomed large
on the cusp of my childhood,
at the end of the street,
over the back fence,
towering over several cities,
out the elementary school window,
watch dog for national forests,
reflected in lakes,
always depicted
on phone book covers,
business cards,
and beer cans,
that friendly popsicle
of much of my youth,
where we kept returning
to have snowball fights in June.
Each of us were all devout
mountain watchers, because
it is not on display
every single day--
much of the time it is swaddled
completely in cumulus
while wearing several cloud hats,
hidden,
leaving the foothills flat-topped,
perhaps snatched by playful giants,
sometimes gone for several days,
perhaps placed in a distant land
in some nearby dimension
where other versions of us
marvel at its majesty,
only to reappear one morning,
snow ablaze with raw sunrise,
like a righteous red spirit,
all tall and raspberry
and mystical.
North-westerners somehow live larger
in its imperial shadow, nestled in like
fat mushrooms in a ring of fire,
mostly impervious
to its potential for one day presenting
us with a malevolent eruption,
and once a month
when the lahar siren
goes off for five minutes
down in Orting, we do wonder
if that is the day
the Eloi are really hungry.
Glenn Buttkus
June 2012.
Posted over on dVerse Poets-MLB
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17 comments:
Such a good depiction of what happens to mountains and you gave a really good sense of the beautiful, moody Northwest. Enjoyed your descriptions and the end, as well.
Loved it!
Smashing read and the idea of a parallel universe beyond the mountain appealed.
Tremendous poem, drawing in mighty detail, gently but proudly this splendor of nature. I was especially captivated by the portrait of younthat comes thru, and your soul dancing with the mountain. These giants ennoble the spirit, I think, and that comes thru co brightly and calmly in this lovely poem.
Loves these lines:
perhaps snatched by playful giants,
sometimes gone for several days,
perhaps placed in a distant land
in some nearby dimension
where other versions of us
marvel at its majesty,
"all tall and raspberry
and mystical." The popsicle mountain! I am there with you guys, mountain animation and magic and also dangerous, but in this pastoral with mountain and clouds, we don't go there. Yes indeed. Great read and reading!
nice...i have seen her....love me some mountains and some nature....i like the magic of the thought too that maybe when you can not see it another version of you might be looking at it as well....lovely imagery man...
Beautiful, Glenn! I lived in the area for about eight years, back in the late seventies to mid eighties; four of those years in the little logging town of Ashford. The mountain was a part of our lives, even when we lived in Tacoma Puyallup, and Graham. One of my good friends has a beautiful home in Enumclaw (my mom lived in Enumclaw)built in 1911, that has a perfect view of the mountain. He wants to sell and move to Minnesota! OMG!
Thanks for the memories!
What fun memories... I can't imagine playing with snowballs on the mountain in June. I especially like the first three stanzas... and the ending. Hell, loved the whole piece.
Love it. The splendor of our mountain is in your words.
"cloud hats" so apt--wonderful description here
nice...i love mountains and have plenty around in switzerland...they have their own kind of magic which you capture well here glenn
"all tall and raspberry
and mystical."
Your idyllic view of the looming masterpiece, Ranier as a backdrop in your life is so richly supplanted in your soul. A joy to read and be read to by your delectable diction.
A most indelible poem, Glenn; thank-you~!!!
Glenn, I'm sorry I'm so far behind on reading your work. I miss it! I'm heading out of town this morning but will catch up when I get back. I just wanted to let you know that although I've taken a couple of weeks off from poetry prompting, I'm back at it. Here's the one for this weekend:
http://rosemarymint.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/midweek-melting-week-3/
And I'll post a new list on Monday. Happy writing, and happy summer!
so just where did you disappear to sir?
Canada on a road trip
Thank you so much for the reminder; I have been intending to read The Time Machine for some time now. The siren and Eloi references are excellent clues.
I love this section:
"in some nearby dimension
where other versions of us
marvel at its majesty,
only to reappear one morning,
snow ablaze with raw sunrise,
like a righteous red spirit,
all tall and raspberry
and mystical"
I've been missing you and your work. I do hope you're having a lovely time on your trip.
I'm jealous! I had no mountain where I grew up, But through squinted lids sometimes the low dark clouds passed as mountains.
Wonderful words, as usual!!
xox
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