THE MOUNTAIN ©

By

Charles E. O’Connor

 

A Washington State premise that fits many of our beautiful mountains and those of us who live around them

 

The mountain’s going to fall on us, he sat up with a start,

The mountain will explode and fall, he felt it in his heart.

The mountain’s going to fall on us, he trembled in despair,

As his Mother tried to calm his fears, she slowly stroked his hair.

“The mountain won’t come tumbling down” she whispered in his ears,

“That old mountain will be standing for a hundred thousand years.

The mountain’s made of solid rock, it can’t hurt us tonight,

It’s just a common nightmare that has caused your awful fright.”

 

The dream kept coming back at night, this worried Mom and Dad,

The doctor told them it will pass, such dreams are good and bad.

“Now Timmy,” said his teacher, “that great mountain is our friend,

You know it won’t come tumbling down, on this you can depend.”

His friends began to laugh and tease, and call him “Crazy Tim,”

They said, “he’s weird, says silly things, we just won’t play with him.”

His thoughts were his, he played alone and often stayed apart,

The mountain’s coming down someday, he knew it in his heart.

 

In college Tim began to learn of pyroclastic flows,

His interests always of the earth, and its active volcanoes.

And Geologic History soon confirmed his childhood fears,

His stature on the subject recognized among his peers.

His written thoughts explaining that within the distant past

Local mountains had erupted thus repeating his forecast.

All his friends when hearing of this just said, “its Crazy Tim”.

And just like Chicken Little, he cries, “the sky is falling in”.

 

Now Tim is on the mountain with his instruments and charts,

He measures distant laser beams and probes the mountain’s hearts.

He feels the rumbles far below and watch the needles swing,

The mountain lives, like time itself, a real a growing thing.

His desperation now resigned unwilling to give up,

“It will erupt someday,” he says, “this research is my cup.”

So late at night in full moonlight somewhere above he sits,

With the rumbles growing stronger……

 

THE MOUNTAIN MOVES A LITTLE BIT.