Mountain Heart Poem by Hugh Cobb

Minute fissures spider across granite ridges;
add character to cold stone:
fine lines proliferate on mountain's face.
Tiny crevices glisten green with lichen:
life, abiding deep in pores of rock,
hangs on with ferocious tenacity;
releases oxygen where air is thin
& cuts with a knife edge of cold
so sharp it feels absolute zero to your bones...

Life is undaunted by thin air or cold.
Rock holds consciousness of self,
hosting lichen & snow wi' equal grace.
Snow obscures rock; suggests shapes
beneath glistening brightness,
enduring only at highest elevations.
Lichen put forth roots into rock itself,
strong enough to make its surface crack,
creating space for survival.

Rock wall is not so gracious to all
who seek its mysteries.
Explorers climb,
grasping crannies at peril:
a precious toe-hold
lost to mossy slickness
may lead to finality's fatal fall.

A mountain holds secrets dear;
keeps them so deep in rocky mass
they must be delved
crystal by crystal.
A gigantic geode,
mountain rests, patient,
awaiting an act of God
to reveal its sparkling
mutifaceted heart.

(Copyright 1/21/2005)