Best Capitan Poems
Shadows of light and darkness
Contrasting images of El Capitan
Half Dome sliced by an ice age glacier
I met him that day in Yosemite
Touched by the unique qualities of his photos
Fine prints are displayed at his gallery
I marveled at his skill
Black and white contrasts
Create spiritual moments and introspection
I brought him home with me
His work now hangs in my office
Ever inspiring, ever grand
*Written March 15, 2015, by Carolyn Devonshire in honor of black-and-white photographer Ansel Adams and his stunning photos of Yosemite National Park.
Yo Ho!, Yo Ho! The pirates life for me
The Jamaica Jewel’s sails are full on seven seas
Skull and bones flying high on the main mast
With a trim bow and keel my flag ship is fast
At both starboard and port, my canons thunder
heard from a distance, time to pillage and plunder
My boots and vest are leather black with buckles gold
When the sunlight reflects, landlubber’s blood runs cold
A gold and turtle shell handled sword slung to my hip
A stylish full brim black hat with a subtle dip
I dress all in black except a plume of vermillion
A chest full of treasure and pieces of eight by the million
Just the sound of my name sends shivers to timbers of all
I am Capitan Blood Head, on mermaid lips and ports-o-call
On sand and beach Capitan Blood Head wanted alive or dead
Where rivers become waterfalls posters for bounty is what’s read
So the legend lives on, from Key Largo, San Juan and St Kitts cay
From Trinidad and Tobago to Saint John and Montego Bay
Don’t you cross Capitan Blood Head and his Scallywags
And don’t even think about his favorite Sea hags
‘cause if you do, they will make you walk the plank
Down to Davy Jones Locker, blub, blub, blub you sank
YO HO!, YO HO! A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME
Warner Baxter for contest "Sketch a Character"
Carved by the hand of God you are
awesome, heavenly, take my breath
away, Yosemite.
I worked and lived in Yosemite when
I was 18 1/2 till I was 23.
How was I to be so blessed? some
would say I'm lucky I guess.
What an impact you had on me,
for I was young broken and, lost
till you opened my eyes, you filled
my heart.
You healed my heart, you healed
my soul with all the beauty, the magic,
that you behold.
Your sunrises, sunsets, waterfalls,
your meadows, wildlife, granite
walls of Half Dome, El Capitan, Clouds
Rest, and the Camp 4 climbers they were
the best.
The people, the memories, that I had made
will last me my lifetime I will take them to
my grave.
Now when I die I have just one request,
please spread my ashes and, lay me to
rest, in the place I love the best, my heaven
on earth Yosemite.
So I thank you Yosemite, for the Kodak
moments, and memories, that you truly
gave to me.
You healed my heart, you healed my soul,
with all the beauty, and magic, that you behold.
A winding road, up through the trees, finds California gold
The heart will race, and breath escapes, to see this land unfold!
Dad cherished, this, his boyhood home, a wonderland to view
and shared with us the years he grew, into a the man we knew
A home he loved so long ago, but never quite outgrew
Our family albums back at home, held pictures of lost years
When Gramps had been a mountain guide, my heritage is here
When summer came and school was done,..our family couldn't wait
To camp, explore, and marvel ore', this jewel at Heaven's gate
No picture, song, or poetry, prepares astonished eyes
The valley called Yosemite, invites a heart's delight
Hidden in the canyons of Sierra's mountain glade
Immortal is a valley, which was carved by glacier's blade
Winter melts to spring, again to quench the giant trees
Dogwoods lace the forest floor, azaleas scent the breeze
Redwoods dig their roots between the stones that reach the sky
Earth and sky meet hand in hand, where eagles nest and fly
The Bridal falls, the granite faces, we stuttered to describe
The meadows green, the mirrored lakes, Ahwahnee lodge resides..
The Mercy River cools the brow, in awe of what surrounds
Embrace the peace as evening falls, that mummers nature's sounds
El Capitan, and Half Dome seem to reach the stars so high
Reflect upon old stories told of fire in the sky
A fire built upon the cliffs, then sounds of ancient cries
A call from down below would rise,... would echo from above
And rocks would pour a flaming veil, and spill a song of love
The call of love, from tribes that roamed, a hundred years ago
Days long ago, my childhood eyes, were dazzled under stars
We'd sit around the campfire light, he'd sing and play guitar
We looked upon the granite face of Half Dome, overhead
And watch the burning embers fall, and hear a song so sad
A native call still fills the dark, within the heart of me
A place where soft light still cascades, and Daddy sang to me
................................................................................................................................
A look at Yosemite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5RQp77uVPA
Yosemite’s huge boulders
Sliced in two in the Ice Age
Half Dome and El Capitan
Both carved by a sheet of ice, a glacier
Peering down from the mountains
Buttercups grace the valley
Where deer come to graze at dusk
Worlds of wonder wait at national parks
*A Parise Pariku for Rick’s contest.
Written June 21, 2012
I spent a year or two aboard
A sea faring vessel
Through the gale and through the rain
With Lord Neptune I did wrestle
Me Capitan was a wise old man
With experience beyond my years
And when he got to talkin
You shut yer mouth and opened yer ears
One night after supper this he said to me
Whiskey was made for drinkin
And the sand was made for shores
If a sailor gets caught with a married girl
He best not lose his oars
I spent some time locked up
In a hard walled Turkish prison
All that time inside
Left me my home a missin
And While I was a hostage
My roommate was a rat
Scaly tail and whiskered nose
Twas on my bed he shat
And one night after supper this I said to him
Whiskey was made for drinkin
And the sand was made for shores
If I ever get back home
Ill kiss the ground down on all fours
I found myself in confessional
There to tell a sin
I waited in the booth alone
Until the priest was in
Sitting there debating
Of what I thought I should say
How should I tell an old ecclesiastic?
About a wild young man’s way
And so when he stepped in, this I said to him
Whiskey was made for drinking
And the sand was made for shores
I got caught with a married girl
But I didn’t lose me oars!
Yosemite’s marvels
glaciers from the last Ice Age
sculpted Half Dome and El Capitan
alas, though I worship the almighty Hand,
I am but sand
compressed by elements
solidified by desert sun
pounded by wind
made porous by rain
withstanding, I remain
sandstone
vessel capturing microscopic organisms
purifier for aquifers
tan, brown and red
camouflaged in Zion Park
filter for nature’s emotions
heat’s scourge grows
water’s passion flows
sandstorm wind blows
yet I am not enraged
only engraved
uninfected, merely reflective
poetic words pouring from my cracks
aged by time
refined by nature’s whims
from dust I came
and dusty fate awaits
aging poet
weathered sandstone
Chilling in the caravan
learning hand to hand
man to man
one bloody palm over the world as we orbit n twirl
Spin a twin
flip her friend
Knocking down doors
Leveling the score
Raqeuteering, blackmailing, not to Badmention
Politician magic tricking women,
Don't play!
don't take away !!
?what we constitute!!!
Is it magic? , it is more ?
Teaching lessons ,molding habits
So I wont bore
Ill el Capitan ,save a woman
If that heart is tore ,
Inner intuitions
tell me open every door
Weeping for the ones sleeping
Peers peep-in ,
hopefully never sneak-in
Awakening the mental each n every weekend
Weakened body Withered by speed/ time or Trick and treatment
Peaceful moments of life created by love and light
Eyes wide open,
always seeing, never blinking,
unless I'm winking
Two options
Tossed into life
Clever thinking or
Endeavor sinking
When you look into reflection
Which king do you see?!?
2/10/18
Veiled amongst massive granite rock formations of El Capitan and half dome
Lies picturesque valley exhibiting numerous majestic waterfalls’ grand splendor
Thunderous cascades of gushing cold water bouncing happily over rocks
Attract explorers from all around sphere making them flabbergast
Dancing water droplets flickering like glitter in sun rays
Make visitors pause and amazed showing shimmering rainbow waves
Thrilling and exciting experiences of saturating misty trails
Soak audacious hikers casting enchanting shivering spells
Seeping and dribbling streams deviating through giant sequoias and pine forests
Enhance beauty in spectacular ways alongside gorgeous wildflower displays
Perseverance of strenuous hikes to waterfall base
Bring trekkers immense gratification at attainment
Miraculous effects of golden sunset light on mountain range
Illuminate tower of Half Dome in dazzling shades of red and orange
Small heard of deer resting in meadow watching traffic ways
Appear happy and content listening to nature’s tale
Tired visitors returning after long hikes and explorations of trails
Beam with smile filling their hearts with views of backdrops of cliffs and twilight sky pallet
Glimpses of Mother Nature’s many scenic wonders in the valley bring sacredness
To ones who feel her love and affection to the fullest
It had been a long train ride for me then and it had been fun
I was coming home after Marine Corps training was finished and my tour had just begun
So I had thirty days of leave to enjoy before I had to report for duty
And this train ride home for me was just perfect to relax and enjoy the extreme beauty
I boarded this train called "The El Capitan" a streamliner fully equiped for joy and ease
In Los Angeles on that early November morning, full of good feelings and very pleased
The scenery was fantastic throughout the entire trip as I watched from the upper dome
It was a special car for observing with tables to play cards or eat as we hurried on home
The landscape was ever changing and so many times I was fantastically in awe
The mountains and the desert and the flat lands and the crops so much I still recall
The old train stations where we stoped for a short time to let people off and on
And the complete aura of it all including the pipe smoke, cigars, fragrances cologne
The scenes were a wonder and the people were quite varried and seemed jolly
My trip came to an end, we pulled into the old Union Station in Kansas City, " by golly"
And my folks were there to greet me and we hugged and cried and loved and went home
And it was a perfect ending to my trip that I had enjoyed so much in that dome
Better Then Romeo &Juliet
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Corrupt me Darlin,
I am your velvet playground
you wandering, endless sea
let us sail into the unknown
when the waves crash us into the rocks
we will decide to fly
You are my sky Capitan
we will venture into the stars
across the universe
we will never come down from the magical high
but should our wings get clipped and we begin to fall
let us catch each other on the way down
we will gently float back to earth
hanging on to the blue crescent moon
but our arms will brace one another
cupid will find our reality
I will steal two of his many arrows
I shall make sure to aim into your heart
and then into mine
I never want to lose you, lose this
our story is epic
much better than Romeo and Juliets
we both live in the end
with a Future brighter than the brightest comet
our forever is etched in stone
and that is worth thousand lifetimes.
Date:7/15/15
Jessica Thompson
None other state can stake the claim
That Texas has to worldwide fame
No where else would ever be the same
It’s people are the proudest, yet
The truest hearts you can bet
Life is as good as it can get
I have slept under the Gulf shore sky
Climbed the western mountains high
Watched magnificent eagles fly
Traveled from the high west plain
Where the farmers pray for rain
This fierce pride will never wane
To the east’s lush forest green
And all of the Texas in between
Greatest land you’ve ever seen
Where the blackland belt’s rich loam
Meets the cross-timbers grassy dome
No other place will ever be my home
Viewed the hill country’s incredible beauty
Where Ft. Hood’s soldiers do their duty
Lovely waterfalls tumbling so fluty
Possom Kingdom or Lake Fork’s wake
Tawakoni or Toledo Bend for goodness sake
From Lake Texoma to Amistead Lake
The mighty Red, Trinity and Sabine
Rio Grande, Colorado, the Brazos Queen
Rivers run muddy or pure and clean
Down in the southwestern desert and Big Bend
Llano Estacado, the Edward’s Plateau, friend
Marfa’s lights, El Capitan, scenic beauty without end
From Texarkana down to big D
Cowtown to El Paso, you will see
Why Texas means so much to me
Because every Texan seems to know
No matter where it is they go
It is Texas that they love so
Steve loves mountaineering, he was the first,
Visually impaired person to climb El Capitan,
Solo, and there he met Karen Darke, cyclist,
Who got him into para-cycling ‘cos it had can.
“Climbing is something I really love, so I hope
[I] never have to give it up. I’m certainly going
to make the most of it while I can. I just hope
it helps to inspire [disabled people],” adding,
“to believe that anything is possible if they set
their minds to it. If I can do it, [then] anyone can.”
Steve is a total sportsman, who loves to get
Challenged, and he feels met by the bike klan.
He was born in New Zealand but is a Scot today,
Is from Moray with ailment Retinitus Pigmentosa.
He trains in Manchester with pilot Adam Duggleby,
And went down a bomb at Rio, from others’ faster.
For the Individual Pursuit B he secured the gold,
And likewise in the Road Time Trial B, gold medal,
Outside in the Road Race B he stuck in to hold,
Onto a podium placement giving a bronze pedal.
Learning to embrace me.
From my receding hairline
to the scar I received
when I was three.
My adaptability
and changing
spirituality.
For the things I keep
under lock and key
and the sentiments
I wish to say
but underscore them
in silent ways
The way I let moments slip
into tomorrow
and how satisfied I am
with simplified.
Yeah, I'm learning me,
A me I never knew
existed.
Don't need to search,
I was meant to surface,
shine and blind
with a beacon type light
waiting for El Capitan
to find me.
First rule of thumb
when your lost,
is to be still.
Now, I feel the way ahead
will include me,
instead of the opinions
of them, they and thou.
Embracing me
It's been quite a long while.
Right foot into this little dimple that you can toe in on aggressively so it’s opposing the left hand, then you can, like, zag over across to this flat, down-pulling crimp that’s small but you can bite it.
[From Honnold’s climbing notebook.]
For me, the most transcendental feat –
your smeared soles at Freeblast Slabs,
your shoulder jammed into Offwidth
and cardiac-kick at the Boulder
were: Inspirational; unimaginable.
We sit in theatre chairs white-gripping
our armrests and, too often, eyes closed.
Up on El Cap as much as we’ll e’er be,
We twist our bodies in synchrony.
We’ve seen how immeasurable
the possible; the achievable
of the inconceivable. At last,
an image beyond the past; a hero
of no vanquished enemy,
brawling limitless potentiality.
Following your lead, we reimagine
how we might ascend our vallied lives.