Part I · The High School Era (1992–1996)
There is a story of this name, written in the same period: read it in prose.
Toward the east the Mountain lies,
Towering high before my eyes.
Wandering white waters surround
The stones and shrubs that color the ground.
Toward the Mountain I set sail,
For underneath is Druid’s Vale.
And there with Earth will I converse,
Should not these winds be so adverse.
The sun is gone, the sky is black.
I throw down anchor, set sails slack.
The wind is fierce, the waves restless.
Death is close, and my ship defenseless.
The onslaught of rain tears the sails.
A flash of lightning strikes the rails.
The mast is broken by the gales,
And the fiery sea pulls me under.
I wake on the shore of an alien land,
Laying bruised and broken on the sand.
A citadel of stone stands straight and tall,
Watching the Lords and over all.
I follow a path through the mountainside.
Earth’s presence lights the grounds.
I behold the valley that lies within:
Nature’s beauty and nature’s sounds.
At the World’s Root a woman stands,
Dressed in shades of green and brown.
She looks at me and moves her hands,
Motioning for my approach.
“My child,” says she, “do not fear,
For it is I who have brought you here.
Your quest is noble, your plan is wise;
Your failure will mean the Lords’ demise.
“As is told in tales of old,
Sun and Moon will commune.
And even God in his halls of gold
Will be stricken down in ruin.
“The mighty Eclipse that I so defied
Has never been before so deified.
My power ebbs, yours is strong.
Only you can right this wrong.
“Stand now at the highest peak
And forever hold your ground.
For you will find that what you seek
Has, in fact, already been found.”
She turns and leaves through the trees,
Leaving me to climb alone.
Earth’s energy helps me along,
To achieve the crest of this mighty stone.
Composed 1992–1996 · part of the Poems collection · authorship documented on the Provenance page.