Life, And Trekking Across Wild Wilderness
As epic pain ebbs then subsides
Nature's steals the mountainous scene
With beauty's encompassing slides
Home, farm life, peacock yardbird preens.
Robert J. Lindley, Goethe-Stanza
7-27-2023
Note: Goethe Stanza- New poetry form, that I recently discovered.
hill so kissed by clouds
invites trekking adventure
while apex beckons…
welcoming summit
quenches thirst with waterfalls
thus enthralling heart…
midst thick canopies
muddy trails lead along rocks
as trees waft cool breeze…
soaring toward crest
surmounting hilly challenge
victor’s faith ascends…
hill* top grand delight
makes me thank God’s might.
*Psalm 68:16 Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.
March 15, 2023
1st place, "Haiku Sonnet" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Joanna Daniel; judged on 6/12/2023
Majestic, barren, rock-cropped braes ascend—
Arrayed, green-clad, in heather, gorse, and fern—
As mid-day, misty, dark’ning clouds descend
To cold-embrace each soaring tor and burn.
From heights unseen a torrent cascades free,
Unfettered into deep Ben Nevis’ glen;
Then onwards toward Loch Linnhe and the sea,
Through sodden bog and brackened, stone-strewn fen.
Though hidden from the eyes of those below,
Ben Nevis’ surly brow is sought and found
By those who brave the rain, the sleet, and snow,
To scale the cairn that marks its highest ground.
And there, amidst the cloud, God reaches down
To touch and bless fair Scotland’s Highland crown.
brae=steep hillside
tor=rocky peak
burn=hillside stream
This sonnet is one of a set of five sonnets written while traveling through Ireland and Scotland in June 2019. This sonnet was inspired by my climb to the snowy summit of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles. The poem is included in my book, "Mostly Sonnets," published by Dunecrest Press and available for sale on Amazon.com.
A tiny hamlet tucked away midst the mountains of New Hampshire
A chill in the air; frost on the windowpane, icicle-framed
A fresh snow blanketing the ground; the silence of the holiday broken
by the pealing of the late-afternoon bells atop the village church
Stores shuttered, roads empty, save the occasional out-of-towner
Pilgrims trekking through snowdrifts, puffs of breath suspended in the air
Hearty greetings ringing out, piercing the quiescence, warming the soul
Lights switched on house by house, lamps pointing the way to Prayer
Three hundred people now gathered together in the village Church
Some neighbors, others friends; some acquaintances, few strangers
Three hundred people, on that Thursday in late November, united in gratitude
for all the blessings of the day, the Holiday, Thanksgiving Day, 1971
I too was there that day, proud to call those Pilgrims my brothers, my sisters
Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men -- from a tiny New Hampshire glen. Amen.
Upward,high,I move.
Treading the weedy and filthy path.
Jittery,fear,have I at stake.
Stumps,rocky stones grace the way.
Sore feet,but I trek on.
Scorpions and serpents hate,
As their territory, I invade.
Tendrils, wild hemps lay as traps.
Fear not,say I to self.
Cracking toes weep for the heated earthen mud.
Fried,made crispy by the scorching sun.
Close by,is a cold stream,
there to calm my nerves.
Bejeweled with life's great tidings.
Now,dominate,enjoy,say I to self.
My bag is almost full with what I can call
a house;
I'm not prepping-
greener pastures my soul seeks....
Name: Teddy Kimathi
Contest: SOMETHING WITH GREAT IMPACT!
Date: 17/12/2015
Words used:20
I.
A ring imbued with love
Is the gift we both have
Circle and boundless
Unharmed by ages
That may our love
Retain the passion
we have always had
Keep the flame
Burning in our heart
Like the ring’s
Undying gleam
May the golden ring’s
Unscathed gleam
Be an inspiration
To the usual
Fleeting feelings
II.
Let us trek together
In the path of time
Along the way
It may lacerate
Our ephemeral form
But our bond’s strength
Made out of firm
thread of our love
And woven
By our passion and faith
Will remain unstirred
And tie forever in our hearts
As we trudge our way
To eternal lands