Mountain Pass Poems

Progress in Motion

All the shelves been emptied,
     there are no books left about;
Both hist'ries and the words
     become nothing but a shout.
Those in the old paintings
     that hang, but barely displayed,
Hold the names forgotten
    as places and faces fade.

The gardens are vacant
     for last year's crops are long gone.
This land's now for condos
     from this first day and beyond.
There will be no playgrounds,
     they are pulling down the schools;
Concrete jungle's coming
     as well as are private pools.

Mountains will disappear
     behind the large one way glass;
Rivers are diverted,
     there will be no mountain pass.
Trees come down for lumber,
     grass is turned over for roads;
Then come one acre blocks
     to the rich they will be sold.

If ones kept the paintings
     they are rich beyond compare;
They hold a heritage,
     yet so few here are aware.
Pride goes before the fall
     in all of this commotion;
What's left is flattened by
     the progress that's in motion.

A Little More

I shaved my head
and wore a robe
the mountain pass
I found at last
grew thin alas
but fat I got
on nature's lot
her sounds were not
my thoughtless strobe
though I was dead
to the mountain's mass
in me she saw
I knew not what
my feet grew raw
I found my past
a timely flaw
the mountain pass
my life aghast
and all was for
a little more
though I was dead
I shaved my head

The Raven's Empire

The bear came limping down
With body singed and bloody paws 
Lay on the ground
And let out its final groan
Its spirit rose around 
The shoulder of the mountain pass
Where all was blackened stumps 
And rising smoke

We took a day to reach the brow
Through searing air and choking heat
Crawled the last few yards 
Of granite sheer and steep
The horizon all around
Stained with bloody gall
We stared out and saw
The mountain range bleak
Of the raven’s empire.

Dawn Chorus

Dawn Chorus

     In the shifting colours of the spreading dawn
     A solitary song from the woodland trees
     Then a chorus of voices that rising morn
     Carried on the impulse of the early breeze.
     A thousand melodies over wind blown grass,
     The chorus drifts over plain and mountain pass,
     Filling silent valleys with the song’s refrain,
     Until lost in the waking day’s loud domain.

     For Ottava Rima Contest
     by L.Milton Hankins

     Checked by Howmanysyllables.com

      Barry Stebbings
      Sept. 2022

What Lies Ahead

What lies ahead, I do not know,
But I will confidently go
Along this rough and tumble trail
O’er mountain pass, dank, boggy swales,
To scale the heights, be brought down low.

Though ‘twas ordained so long ago,
I find there is no cause for woe;
Nay, joyfully I look to scale
                         what lies ahead.

I may befriend a would-be foe
To sanctify and flourish, grow,
Or stumble over some travail,
Cry out in need, or badly fail,
But I know all is apropos,
                         what lies ahead…

—————

For the Brian Strand Premiere Choice Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Brian Strand
Written on 06/06/2022

The Winding Road

One never knows where a winding 
road will lead
A winding road can lead you 
up a mountain pass
Or a hill road winding pass
A winding road can lead to
a stream or river bank
Or lead you on a dirt road 
that leads to a farmer's field
A winding road can lead you
to a hidden beach
A winding road can lead you 
on a journey to anywhere

A Guide To Being Immortal

Time waits for no one man.
It comes so swiftly and surely.
Be sure to have a plan.

‘Cause when he comes, you’ll see
That you might just be able to 
Pass by and run quickly

Away from him and through
A mountain pass. Or maneuver
Through woodland caribou.

The world is your oyster!
Make something of it somewhere
You could live forever.

Remember, time is there.
Waiting. For a day that it
Catches you unaware.

If caught, don’t throw a fit.
With wit, you tried to cheat death
It’s your fault you nitwit.

Mountain Church

Four friends and I, one Sunday, take a ride.
our church still closed just short of one full year.
We drive, white almond blooms on either side,
instead. Their branches wave as if to cheer,
“Prepare the way! Prepare the way for God!”
Each blade of mountain grass we see arise,
like little children singing praises, laud.
Some tiny purple flowers sing reprise,
join fiddlenecks of gold, much like stained glass
to deck the mountain like an A-frame church.
We slowly drive the narrow mountain pass
to see the valley from a lookout perch.
The treetops seem to bow, like they declare
their love for God. In awe, we join their prayer.


March 7, 2021
Breath of Spring Poetry Contest
Contest Sponsor: Regina McIntosh

Sketches of Motion

The soul has to courageously experience all things,
taking steps in new direction by adjusting the wings.
Genuine sincerity regardless of fancy and pleasure,
destinations journey to accumulate embrasure.
Silence serves as lock of the excitable,
shielding the wisdom as veil before versed delightable.
The trades of life adjust in time to advance,
mastering oneself to vices enhanced.
Passing through and rise to conquer,
progress loving virtues anchor.
Believing fuel and inspired light,
struggling self as consuming flame of right.
Compassion the smoking glow of faith,
flames that illuminates the path of right.
The journey of freedom leads to captivity,
mountain pass of discipline towards liberty.
Translation become reincarnation,
the fine line of interpretation.
Subjecting the ideal as true realization,
the soul as part of love becomes glorification.

Majesty

A golden halo crested jagged peaks,
It’s kiss of morning splendour
Tasted like a Valley-fruit cocktail;
Yellow-orange fire rising over the glass,
And, full to the brim, sloshed streaks
Down the mountains. Citrus venture
Splashed the spruce and the soft shale
With orange juice hues along the mountain pass.

Morning breathed a soft sigh,
Just enough to raise the hair on
My arms. Standing over Heaven, its gates
Of carven oak and sharp pine musk;
El Dorado is the majesty of the sky.
A golden city reflected upon
The ground which I stand, the lakes
And the streams in a land of dusk.

Golden leaf, silver spoon, still distraught
Are those that don’t realize beauty cannot be bought.

Oh the Places You Will Go

Oh the places you’ll go when you find our right self
You will become a pirate, a butterfly, shoe making elf.
You will travel to Europe, you’ll glide down the Nile
You’ll dance in the streets of Venice, and you’ll do it in style.

Oh, the sights that you’ll see, and only you will know
How brilliant they were as you dug through the snow.
You will fling away what impedes you, you will be a house elf.
In your worldly travels, you will find your true self.

Oh, the ideas you will gather, the philosophy you will grasp.
You will find idealism and truth while skiing down a mountain pass.
You will raft in the Colorado, and you’ll make others smile.
They will see your self-confidence from a solid long country mile.

Oh the others you will inspire with your imagination and hope.
They will watch you ride your polka dotted gnarly burly antelope,
And they will strive to be better, more themselves also, too.
For you will inspire them all, yes, darling, that is what you’ll do!

Sailboat Mountain

Percolating from the dream... 
this time its sail boats (three of them)
making their way up a mountain pass
brightly colored sheets swallowed by clouds
that could be mistaken for seagulls..
The incline is nightmarish steep
can't tell if there's anyone at the helms
the pass is soundless-a passage profound.


I can't see what's at the pinnacle 
that's where the percolating stops...
maybe just a shipyard of cracked boats
a pile of rocks that dream in tombstone.
perhaps God kneading a clap of thunder... 
I've been dreaming of mountains lately.
maybe it's time to start climbing.

Haiku

blowing wind sings songs
thru valley and mountain pass
pierced by man's echo

Jouney

Journey


The waves on which we walk are a treacherous mountain pass.
Cavernous falls and crevasses, formed by an icy chill blast.
Never second guess your step, steady as she goes,
Patiently plotting you ascent through life’s snow.
Finally finding your paths the hard thing,
Now the snows melting and here comes spring.
Slip and slide, keep yourself balanced,
Up or down your time here’s chanced.
Journeying through life is key,
Content then you can be.
That you’ve done your best,
Grow old now rest.
Feel truly blessed,
Life attest.
Death

16/04/2018.    Journey

River of Cold

Cascading ice flow
Down rugged rock mountain pass
A river of cold

• Short Mountain Pass Poems
• Famous Mountain Pass Poems
• Best Mountain Pass Poems
• Read Mountain Pass Poems
• Long Mountain Pass Poems
• Mountain Pass Quotes