Skald
Tour the Araby
Lawrence, betrayed
Other worlds, Orange lands
Countries low, or
MAGA land
Allenby, Hussein
Balfour, MacMahon
Bibi, Sisi
Khamenei, those men
Circassian mountaineers
Walk on sand
Jesus, no water
Wine, from holy land
Sweetest, Idunn’e apples
Life, what I seek?
Here, a foreign man
I admire climbers
I like their strength, courage
And dexterity.
With no wings to fly…
and no legs to walk…
as an elevated portion of the Earth’s crust,
with sloping sides and a peak,
stuck to the ground…, I am found.
Appear so majestic…
But to the core, a rock I am…!
Fixed at one place,
to be the guest of others,
I can’t move an inch further!
Whistling winds, rustling leaves,
Frothing waterfalls are my bosom friends!
I take delight in being a host
for calling birds, pattering animals,
and the passionate Mountaineers,
who experience the bliss
of climbing my summit!
Who is devoid of a failing?
Contentment with what you have…,
results in living the life of beatitude!
It does require a change in your attitude!!
The mountaineers were thrilled with the goat keeper’s help.
He had been instrumental in keeping the goats in line for them.
If you move here permanently, we will feed you krill, soup and kelp.
Okay, agreed the dragon goat keeper; his name was Little Jim.
Why do they call you that? A brave mountaineer asked the dragon.
Little Jim studied him for a few seconds before he said with a smile,
Since you asked, I will reply. Do you see my tail a wagg’n?
It is smaller than the tails of my six brothers by a Philadelphia mile.
Atop Ole Everest
mountaineers delight
Your souls she can take
In darkness of night
Her vengeance and beauty
Are one in the same
With wildness in her
She’ll never be tame
Almost to summit
So close to her peak
Climbing on north side
Your soul she seek
Her fury has gripped you
You know you may die
You try to be fearless
But that’s just a lie
Now you test fate
Push towards her summit
With fading of light
The temperatures plummet
Zone of death
Now you prepare
No breath can you catch
Way up in thin air
Up on her summit
Can’t stay very long
For if you do
To her you’ll belong
When she makes her choice
And she chooses you
With her wrath and her fury
Not much you can do
To live or to die
Your willing to chance
Eternally tangled
Her deadly romance
Rainbow of colors
Spread wide thru her valley
Now you lay there too
And add to her talley
So before you leave
Hold your loved ones tight
For there is great chance
She claims you that night
If she is hungry
For your soul that day
They’ll already know
On her mountain you’ll stay
Soon I shall retreat to the mountains up north
To my home in those West Virginia hills,
Where songs of the mountaineers call me forth
I can hear the plaintive voice of the whippoorwill.
I am no stranger to the river valleys meandering
Around the steep cliffs and verdant stands of pine,
Sounds of red-headed woodpeckers hammering
The hidden dank mouth of a deserted coal mine.
I long to feel my hands digging in the rich dark earth
As spring comes to the higher fields on the farm,
Evenings fill with reminiscing, laughter, and mirth
No other place I know has such compelling charm.
written April 15, 2022
Come to the mountains in mid-October
When the scents of autumn fill the air,
The trees on the hillsides are in full array
And be sure to visit a local county fair,
Where grandma’s pumpkin pie competes
For a prized ribbon of blue, red, or white.
Most likely you’ll hear a bluegrass band
If you come to the fair on a Friday night,
When Mountaineers sing songs of pride
Sharing the camaraderie of good friends,
And marvel at the spectacular fireworks
As another celebration of harvest ends.
Written October 15, 2021
The Bolted Brain
Like permanently set cement.
Ever try to speak to one?
Whose vacant eyes just glow!
With questionable truisms,
Gleaned from brazen television shows?
As if a seven-paid figured miscreant
Has fallen from Mount Olympus, what?
Ill informed mountaineers, they~
Encouraging us to at our nation jeer!
Yea, their duty be, to fill us with hate
and fear, adamantly.
Best you muzzle these mouthpieces
who cheer.
For the end of the planet, all nations
and the life you hold dear.
They want to be angels of truth?
I say adamantly, they all lie, forsooth!
MOUNTAINEERS TERRAIN
evening valley fold
up down around the horizon
mountaineers terrain
~
sun, moon, wind touches
up down around the horizon
terrain mountaineers
12/5/19
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2019©
Old Lang Syne meaningfully with gusto
Hogmanay celebrations in full swing
Revellers savour whiskeys afterglow
Watching square dancers doing highland fling
Laden snow clouds have accumulated
Inky heavens to sheer mountain ski top
As frozen misty hailstones enshrouded
onwards from midnight chimes, it did not stop
Mechanisation had ground to standstill
So stranded most where, no alarm to raise
Prompted mountaineers try to ski downhill
Technology cut off they did appraise
Happily acknowledging extra days
Revellers exclaimed jubilant hoorays
Oct 29 2019
New Fall Sonnets Poetry Contest
Emile Pinet
Sweat and the sea are salty
and alike.
A lazy man and a corpse
never sweat.
Mountaineers mount up the
slithery mounts.
Resistance yields, dissolving
in sweat.
Seeds sprout in the fallen beads,
life-drops.
Success floats in sweat, depositing
fresh joys.
Each victory in the history sparkles
through sweat.
First published in The Literary Hatchet (Pear Tree Press, US)
A fearful, jagged place
Yet wondrous to the eye.
A place for hardy mountaineers,
The Black Cuillins of Skye.
No place for the timid
Imposing in their might,
But to stand and look upon
There's ne'er a grander sight.
Interlopers amid rolling hills
A ridge of fierce repute,
Standing aloof, magnificent
They challenge rope, and boot.
childhood innocence
freedom to roam natures way,
Galactic image.
Another day, adventures sought, friends to meet,
rise at five, sun just rising, head for the fields,
long day ahead, dog by my side, decisions to make,
camping in the hills or den making in the woods,
fishing in the stream, brook jumping, make tree swing,
bike ride, rock climbing, swim in the lake, bath tub cruise,
glorious days of summer, no responsibilities, so free,
packed lunch, warm bottle of water, stale roll with cheese,
scraps for the dog, life was so good, days so long,
we were builders, fishermen, mountaineers, hunters,
sailors, sportsmen, explorers, astronauts and pilots,
sunset time to head home, memories, tales to tell,
ready for dinner, exhausted, look forward to another day.
Long day's of desire
memories of a lifetime,
simple black and white.
Composed 08/23/2017.
Travel with me to a nature lover's dream
Denali's grandeur is the unfolding theme
Expansive vistas paint a wondrous scene
Snow covered peaks look quite so pristine.
Morning sun blushes atop gray clouds
Majestic sights gratify excited crowds
Glaciers glow upon a distant mountain range
Mesmerizing hues color changing landscape.
Butterflies roam flowers pink and yellow
Moths feasting on nectars look so mellow
Birch trees so tall, they swing with the wind
Aspen tree sings with its leaves shiny green.
Red squirrels run from trees to leap
White sheeps graze on ranges so steep
Moose and grizzly bear a sight must see
A golden eagle flies high above the trees.
Mountaineers climb soaring mountain peaks
Hiking, biking, camping is what visitors seek
Memories made here will never depart
A visit to the park will engrave your heart.
August 17, 2017
Placed 3rd: Strand choice Z contest by Brian Strand
Carved are your Cottages (This poem is in English and Polish version)
Rzezbione chaty twoje
Carved are your cottages,
Rzezbione chaty twoje,
embroidered are your clothes.
zdobione piekne stroje.
The ballet is your dance –
Baletem taniec twój -
your music is the forest choir.
muzyka lasu chór.
Spruces for you are humming,
Bo tobie smreki szumia,
wind plays on rocks’ edges,
wiatr gra w krawedziach gór,
water tumbles in the brooks,
tetni woda w potokach,
spring is squirting with symphony.
symfonia tryska zdrój.
Tough mountaineers will,
Góralska twarda wolo,
your lambs are on the meadows –
owieczki twe na lakach,
that's your destiny, even sometimes,
jedyna jestes dola,
all in house is wrong.
choc czasem w domu zle.
Copyright A. R. Wielgus, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-s52fGWtuI
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