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S`ain't Mountain Rocks
by Elizabeth Jill
There used to be one footpath to Saint Mountain.
Until the swarms came.
You know how it got started?
Yeah.
Someone posted a sign
that told where it is and how to get there.
Everybody needs some place to go to find peace and solitude.
Get in touch with nature and such.
After a little more time passed, someone with a bright idea
plugged the old sign in. Neon, now.
Then some dirt paths were carved and foot-scuffed
to help people locate Saint Mountain.
Soon after this, a gravel road appeared... zig-zagging around the foliage.
And at the bottom of this clearcut, the first restaurant and gift shop arrived.
After that came some hotels and boutiques.
You know. To help everyone enjoy the experience.
When people read about it in the newspaper and heard about it on TV,
they grabbed their coolers and cameras
and ran themselves to the place that could bring them a fresh perspective.
Grant them some peace. You know.
Nowadays, of course, Saint Mountain t-shirts are so abundant
they can be found in any Goodwill store.
"Saint Mountain Rocks!" says one. Everybody knows this.
But what nobody's known until now is -the original sign that was made so long ago?
-gave the wrong directions.
On purpose.
10/07/2006 Author's Note: 
Posted on 10/07/2006
Copyright © 2024 Elizabeth Jill
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 10/07/06 at 02:18 PM Oh, you make my mind leap with laughter and hope at carefully keeping special places special. This is such a finger pointing at silly folks and what becomes in their minds a destination and why.... |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 10/08/06 at 12:37 PM Fascinating story poem Jill. One can't help but feel the urge to visit there. |
| Posted by Ashok Sharda on 10/08/06 at 01:24 PM Well, if one is using a wrong ladder as scale to measure evolution then the wrong direction is right in the sense that it is giving you a msg. that technological evolution is no evolution. Change your ladder and you will find the right direction to Saint mountain rocks. |
| Posted by Christel Crews on 10/09/06 at 01:59 AM oh, what a lovely piece! this is so true! that last line made me laugh outloud! wonderfully written! |
| Posted by Mara Meade on 10/11/06 at 01:06 PM I went there once. Bought a tee-shirt.
Very profound in its scope is this one. Very. |
| Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 10/30/06 at 06:12 PM Charming and insightful, you did in the poem what was done with the original sign directions to that place... yes, a delighted laugh at the end, and it leaves my head open and bright. |
| Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 11/05/06 at 12:51 AM Clever ending! Quite a twist! Always unfortunate when a "place of solitude" becomes a tourist trap!! |
| Posted by Michelle Angelini on 12/05/07 at 04:12 AM Excellent Jill. Most people don't have the sanity it takes to keep a place peaceful. The ending rocks!
~Chelle~ |
| Posted by Jean Mollett on 06/01/08 at 02:39 AM Hi Elizabeth,
Great write and quit clever. A twist indeed. :)
Lovely and love that picture too. Still hope ansd sounds peaceful even if it is the wrong direction. :) |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 08/19/08 at 01:09 PM ...elizabethJill, gal this is a jewel from 06,??? quit it! mygolly i was teetering at the end of each line, you had humankind held on to like a Howdy Doody String Puppet, elizabeth, i read you in 06 and i musta missed this one, glad it showed-up on the favs...too much, lady! |
| Posted by A. Paige White on 01/02/09 at 03:16 PM The protective con, that left you and Saint Mountain safe to enjoy your love, leaves me warm and with a satisfied smile.
(chip) |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 03/15/09 at 02:57 PM I LOVE this! Everyone shold have a special place to think and find peace. Loved the ending! The picture was very fitting for the poem. Great job (but I never expect anything less from you! |
| Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 07/13/10 at 12:04 PM If I, a connoisseur of mountains was handed a pile of Atlases that said, this way to Jill Mountain, having ventured within a mile of the place, if there was a duping in the making I would discover it immediately upon the sight and the sound of it for there is no mistaking such a Mountain for any other. it's just the way it is. |
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