Of Mountains and Men - A Collab. With Einstein Noodle

You live only once

Mountaintops from the foggy window

peek inside his tethered soul, sensing

an irremediable  syncope to come,

proponing one last miracle

before consideration on death wishes.

the old man looks upon his shoes

rusty as his hoary heart, bearing

scratches of diseased years

the blurry countenance of the mountains

reminiscence of the man once he was

 Scuffs of adventures come and gone

shoe string broke short still knotted

in place. his bones are at peace and

his mind adds wind to the race

 

saddle soap can perform miracles

parched leather invigorates with treatment

news of the flesh catches like fishing hooks

while the mountains look down in majesty

the old man feels ignition and the dust settles.

 

hands outspread - fingers entangled with rosaries,

weary of counting chants, pills and breaths.

blue veins like a road map delineate his journey.

farewell, he bids, to gossamer repetitions

and numbers; ghosts of years never to come.

 

as the doctors and nurses close the door

old man, old shoes and new found inspiration

gets

                 out

                               of

bed;

goes to the mountain once more.

Author's Note

Reviews

[DIVYA]

There's so much of human nature in these lines...to live is to do what you love. How many of us die in ignominy, never really living our lives the way we would love to. The old man took a re-birth and I loved the story so wonderfully told. My compliments on this lovely collab Zahra. Just LOVED it!

[Zahra]

thank you Divya. It's always an Adventure working with E because of the unique way he approaches a subject. :)

[DIVYA]

You both have done great with the subject at hand. It was a pleasure to read Zahra!

[Einstein Noodle]

yes! thank you Diya! so nice to meet you ..and to Zahra ..the pleasure is all mine young lady! :)

[Perkele.7885]

The day that I cannot get up, walk to my door, open it and see the day that my Lord hath made; I want that day to be my last because my Lord deserves my visual thank you every day!

[Einstein Noodle]

ahaha! indeed sir! yes indeed!! could not receive a more honest review .. love ya man!! thank you for reading and for your great comments! "...because my Lord deserves my visual thank you every day!" tucking that into my little ol' heart to keep ;))))

E.

[Zahra]

Beautiful words indeed. thank you!

[Kelly Scheppers]

Between the reading of this incredible collaboration and the song by Neil Young, my heart was overwhelmed with awe! However were the two of you inspired to write such a compassionate piece?

Truly blows me away...thank you, both of you!!

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you so much beautiful legs Kelly ;) .. this was a Zahra inspiration she so graciously included me in ... so gratified that our poem affected you so .. God bless you and keep you girl! :))
E.

[Zahra]

thank you Kelly! Einstein helped materialized this idea, his wonderful words gave it this special touch.

[Valentine]

Sounds like my father wanting to go hunting just one more time. Or my late husband who wanted to go fishing with the boys one more time. Funny how God lets dreams die. Valentine

[Einstein Noodle]

or perhaps replaces earthly dreams with the ethereal ;))) there is a dignity in passing over .. i am sorry for the loss you suffer with the deaths of your dad and your husband .. one can only empathize with such grief .. but i believe that in connecting in such a way we carry at lest a little of your pain ... hope you find a smile in today Valentine!! and so nice to meet you!
E.

[Leslie Philibert]

Jacob is right, indeed a very excellent poem, the perfect combination of two images of landscape and ageing, perfectly put together. Like this a lot, a gem of a poem.

[Zahra]

thank you very much Leslie.

[Einstein Noodle]

wow! thank Leslie!!
E.

[Einstein Noodle]

oops meant thanks! :O

[Einstein Noodle]

a real treat to work with Zahra once again ..she is always an inspiration and challenges me .. so thank you "Z" ... love your final edits and choices!

let me take this opportunity to thank all who read and comment .. WC is a most wondrous place :))
E.

[Zahra]

my dear friend it is people like you that make this site wondrous and a place worth staying. Really an honor and pleasure working with you. :)

[Einstein Noodle]

back at you .. and you point out how sad it is when writers leave .. for whatever reason .. love and peace girl!
:)))

[tworeeler]

Really nice stuff...can almost smell the leather, feel the specter of death approaching. Vivid, precise. Not a misplaced word (though was "one last one miracle" intentional?) Sent me to my dictionary more than once, always appreciate learning new words. Great job!

[Zahra]

no that was a mistake, I'll correct that. :D thanks a lot for stopping by. Good to see you after so long.

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks tworeeler ..nice to meet you!
E.

[Adam Whitworth]

Thanks, and well done, for the poetic style.
Normal sentences? Pah! Why don't they just write an article or letter to a newspaper or magazine?

[Zahra]

Thank you Adam...

[jeannemarie coulter]

beautiful from first line to last...this last...ahhhhh, pristine like the mountains he climbs...

as the doctors and nurses close the door

old man, old shoes and new found inspiration

gets

out

of

bed;

goes to the mountain once more.

[Zahra]

Thank you so much jeannemarie. :)

[....................]

fantastic collaboration accompanied by a great photos and song... at some point in time even the smallest mounds become challenges to climb but for me the size of the mountain is always relative to the capability of the person... love the title too.

[Zahra]

Thank you so much. :) Einstein came up with this title, and I love this too.

[....................]

you are most kindly welcome, my friend...

[Einstein Noodle]

thank you FT ..;)
E.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"old man take a look at my life, i'm a lot like you"---

to age with dignity is important...and once we feel that we are not what we once were...that is a tough mountain to climb...my dad is there and it is sad to see that once powerful mountain of a man who took care of all of us for so many years...becoming more and more dependent...
i am sure he would love to go to that mountain at least one more time.

thank you for this piece, your voices a perfect blend.

[Zahra]

thank you so much jacob. and honor that you stopped by.

[jeannemarie coulter]

in total agreement with jacob as well...

[Einstein Noodle]

dear jacob! first of all .... my thoughts and prayers for your dad and family ... reading your comments gave me chills and tears at the same time ..thank you for reading and for sharing about your Dad!
E.

[Barbara Kasey Smith]

No one knows the time or hour of departing this world but it is great to be prepared to face it. Time catches all of us the longer our journey here on earth. This writer displayed great images to cause the reader's mind to explode in imaginations. I'd rate this profound!!

[Zahra]

well said. :)

[Einstein Noodle]

wow! thank you lady in red! :)