Wednesday 20 January 2016

POETS UNITED - MOUNTAIN

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” - Edmund Hillary

For this week’s theme, Poets United is featuring “Mountains”. My contribution below:

Geography Lesson

I know a desert much vaster, more arid than the Sahara;
An ocean deeper, greater, more extensive than the Pacific,
A mountain higher, grander, more proud than Everest.

I know a place much quieter, more deserted than the deepest sea;
A place much colder, far more desolate than the Arctic,
More lonely, more forlorn than even the tiniest of desert isles.

A vast parched plain are my lips deprived of your kiss;
An endless ocean are my tears that will not dry,
A haughty pinnacle my pride that will not forgive you.

My loneliness a wordless, silent void;
My heart, a frozen, icy wasteland as you left it;
And as for my existence, that still at least remains,

That tiny desert isle that you but once almost visited...

13 comments:

  1. I love the quote upon which this poem is based :D
    Excellent write :D

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  2. Beautiful, but oh, such sad regret.

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  3. Oh how the mountain raises our hearts up and then defeats them. Does it not have peaks that erode with age, giving us the wisdom to write the song? You have conquered lonely truths in this romantic poem.

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  4. now, that I noticed all about your blogs, I decided to stay follower at this one.
    ...and I stay the clown in Friday-Green.
    My "friends meet friends" - I closed it. Too inhomogen.
    We will see us at many places!
    Herzlich Pippa

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  5. This is a wonderful response to the prompt - the interior landscapes are usually the more challenging ones and you have captured this so well. A wonderful write. I love the title!

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  6. "That tiny desert isle that you but once almost visited"...you made the sigh so tangible.

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  7. A very beautiful but sad poem. The Sydney heatwave could melt anything icy at the moment.And it's going to be even hotter today. Besides you could never have a frozen heart, Nick...You're Grik ... ! :)Hey, and how lucky is that in the emotional geographic scheme of things:)

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  8. I agree with Sherry's comment - that inner landscapes are the most challenging, pose the most challenges. If we can conquer them, climbing a mountain may seem line child's play!

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  9. How difficult it is to get over such a disappointment or let down when hopes are dashed. However resilience must be grasped to move on for what is one among millions.

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  10. I feel like I'm climbing those mountains your poem mentioned while placing your poem as my "keep going" mantra. thanks for the eloquence! nicely done!

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  11. liked the world tour:)

    loved the title.

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  12. Wow! Amazing poem and the geography metaphor works well. Such wonderful images and word-painting!

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  13. The landscape inside can indeed be harsher than out - you expand the quote wonderfully and can certainly empathise with the emotions expressed

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