THE MOUNTAIN THAT TOOK THE PLACE OF A POEM
for W.S.
By Doug Capra, Seward
There it was, stone for stone,
the mountain that took the place of a poem.
He felt its cadence, its rhythm,
even when the mountain hid in clouds
it reminded him of the steep journey
toward meaning, that metaphors can kill, too;
How he had grappled with slippery clichés,
trudged over syntax faults, up to his shins,
in sedimentary nouns, metamorphic verbs,
past a dangerous igneous image – Oh, schist!
Tripping in agony to reach unexplored
heights, unimagined vistas, fathomless
depths. To gaze finally upon the sea again
while resting on a solid stanza edge.
oh schist! Love this.