Mount Rainier Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair
Mount Rainier
I have seen you flash by
Amidst thick green foliage and swaying pines
Like a distant silver dream
On receding skyline
But was never satisfied
For a close encounter I craved
I did then go up
The Space Needle in Seattle
Hoping to have a clear view
Of your snow-clad balding pate
That thought profound thoughts
Against mortal blues of the empty sky
But, alas, you remained
Elusive to sight
Hiding behind shifting clouds
Yesterday, I drove over a hundred miles
Climbed my way to Sunrise Point
Hoping for a close tete-a-tete
You played truant again
I saw a blank
Of nothingness, void
A grey screen of clouds and mist
As snow-flakes flew around
The board before me read
You were somewhere there
Amidst mighty peaks
Right before my unseeing eyes
Doesn't matter Rainier
You are there, I know for sure
Like the Himalayan peaks
I haven't seen
And yet am charmed by their beauty
On calendars, picture-cards
Inherent philosophy
Their height and grandeur speak
Better luck next time
Rainier, you are a teacher
I have now seen
Lofty nothingness, void
Against which I have all the peaks
Of the world that speak
Of Truth that belongs not to things
But to an evanescent dream
That the Lord, whoever He is
Conjures up for stupid minds
For a close encounter I craved...............i love 'nice' alliterations! i'd never have guessed the mountain was thinking. i thought it was just watching humans watching IT! As snow-flakes flew around The board before me read You were somewhere there Amidst mighty peaks Right before my unseeing eyes................i'm not sure this is all one sentence (as i spy no punctuation) , but i ........................................................................like it a lot. the last stanza is, perhaps, too philosophical for me, but some readers will eat it up, ..........like i shall eat up a big (enough) breakfast after i return from giving a sample of my blood in half an hour; it is my donation to an annual physical exam, and to the doctor's retirement fund. didn't God/the Lord have somethin' to do with mountains? or was that His Son? ? to MyPoemList. better luck next time, Madathil! bri :)
Thanks for your comments. A mountain that can watch can, perhaps, think also! Yes, it is one sentence. I omitted the commas and capitalized the first letter of each line in a traditional manner. Enjoy your breakfast. Let those who like philosophy dissect the last stanza with their forks and knives. Gods of all religions have preferred mountain-tops, perhaps, to avoid the sight of us (agnostics! ?) . We have Lord Shiva and His consort, Parvati, known as the parents of all creation, residing happily on Mount Kailas (a magnificent peak of the Himalayas, which, to Hindus, is more important than the great Mount Everest) . Islam has Mount Arafat. Christians too have many - I don't have to carry coal to New Castle, do I?
Beautiful poem. Thrilled to read. I am reminded of my visit to Tiger hills at Darjeeling and watching the sunrise. Clouds/fog failed us twice. But on the third day, we could watch sun rising, shouting through the mountains, as Ruskin Bond has written in a poem on Tiger Hills. Thank you for making me relive the experience. I know, the winter has set in in the US. Hope it is not severe on you. Take care Sir. All the best. -Unnikrishnan
Though I can appreciate your disappointment on missing out Mt. Rainer, yet I am happy to note that you have stumbled upon a loftier thought. If life, after all is just a dream, the reality that we experience now may also be evanescent., , ,10
I am sorry you could not see our Mt. Rainier- I apologize for his elusiveness! ! ! ! My father-in-law has a ton of pictures of that mountain because he'd ride his horses and mule along the Pacific Crest Trail and take pictures- - often looking down on some mountain tops or straight across at others, their peaks quite above the clouds as was he! ! ! Hope you get to see that mountain the next time! ! !
I have seen Rainier from a distance several times. The day-before I was at Tacoma Airport. I got a full view of the peak from the parking lot. On sunny days, I get to see the peak in all its glory from high over-bridges with no trees blocking the view. I don't think I can have another opportunity to drive one hundred miles again to Sunrise Point for a close encounter before I leave your country in January.
Count me as one of the stupid minds. Yet at least aware enough to know that I am. Against mortal blues of an empty sky we go about our day. Lost in self importance. They say that the achievement of reaching or attaining is not the thing but that the journey is everything. You raise your eyes Madathil and raise your pen and we all benefit from your aspirations............splendid.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/24/2024 2:35:52 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Just fantastic ! ! ...... I am moved by the metaphysical contemplation you have drawn from the sheer sight of a cloud ridden mountain! Beautifully penned! Seattle seems to have revived the poet in you! ! I think I have to chase my muse somewhere else!
Wish you all success with your new passion - painting. I wish I too could do that - but am very very bad at it. Don't leave poetry totally. We will miss you too badly here. Thanks for your comment on my poem.