Poem October 17, 2005 Issue

Romancing high places

Al Gemrich

For the ordinary aspiring to extraordinary things
Who would tread upon high places and hear a mountain sing,
Know that to look from out Africa' rooftop,
The mighty steeple, Kilimanjaro, born in fire and rimmed in ice,
Is not to stand upon God's shoulders,
But merely sit upon His footstool
Where the thirsty would sip the glacial rivers of His pleasure.

Would you climb a different, more satisfying mountain
To get glad tidings and know the praise of heights,
A high tower of the mind, piercing as a sword above the clouds,
Floating heaven's vastness, a bird on morning wings?
Would you harness the prancing sun in fields of crystal blue?
Ride unrivaled a chariot of gold on an ascending course among
the silver stars?
Discover the earth hangs by nothing and spins in grace?

Then heed the gentle invitation, "Friend, go up higher."
Scale the mountain of holiness where the perfection of beauty
ever shines.
Drink in the anthems of justice, flowing melodies in living waters.
It is a mighty peak, climbed one step at a time.
Draw upon the breath of the Almighty in ever-rarer air,
Learn the enemy is but your lover in disguise,
Know that the summit of all understanding is the altar
of exceeding joy.

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