Mountain (On the Way)

Underneath the mountain
There’s a place that grows a darkness
Like a womb
There’s a song
Coming out between the spaces
Rocks and doom
We’ve all come and gone
High above the cities
Far beyond beyond beyond the fray
If you wander simply
You may find a poet singing on the way

Source of every fountain
Slow the turtles and the snails pace
Quiet they go
No-one sees
Breath by breath their single step
They move so slow
Inching past the trees
          High up on Mt. Fuji
          Everest, Denali, Kilimanjaro
          If we listen simply
          We too may recall
How we once carried our homes

When times grew too strong
And cruel to bear
Poets followed
                    The cold mountain air
                     Lifted up and out into the clear
                     Keeping balance
                     For everyone to hear

Under every mountain
Far beyond beyond beyond
Beyond the fray
Lies a trust
Just like seeds long buried we will
Find our way
Fortune says we must
                  High above the cities
Coming home from far beyond
Beyond the fray
                   If we wander simply
                  We may find some truths we lost
Along the way
High above the mountains
Far beyond beyond beyond
Beyond the fray
If we wander simply
We may find that we are poets
On the way

 © Judith-Kate Friedman. 1.22.25