The Mountain is Holding Out
The mountain is holding out
for news from the sea
and the raid on the redoubt.
The plain wont level with me
for news from the sea
is harder and harder to find.
The plain won’t level with me
now it’s non-aligned
and harder and harder to find.
The forest won’t fill me in
now it, too, is non-aligned
and its patience wearing thin.
The forest won’t fill me in
nor the lake confess
to its patience wearing thin.
I’d no more try to second guess
why the lake would confess
to its regard for its own sheen,
no more try to second guess
why the river won’t come clean
on its regard for its own sheen
than why you and I’ve faced off across a ditch.
For the river not coming clean
is only one of the issues on which
you and I’ve faced off across a ditch
and the raid on the redoubt
only one of the issues on which
the mountain is holding out.
— Paul Muldoon
from Octopus Magazine (issue #5)