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Mohonk Mountain House
by Ken HarnischAlone again, naturally
I trundle up the hillside to the
Mohonk Mountain House
Aware of my mortality
Wondering, for the first time,
If I should fall, will my cellphone
Ring on into the night unanswered
Until the battery dies
I once basked in this aloneness
Like a latter-day Thoreau
But I am older now, and in need of conversation
And there is the fact that too much of what I am
Has been dissected in endless monologues
I need another voice, a real one, to tell me
I am going crazy
The valley spills before my eyes
A thousand feet below
The Catskills rise in purple splendor
Thirty miles to the north.
I stop and take digital photos with
A Canon,
Knowing they will be much better than last year’s
And for the first time, wondering if I care
This is aggravating, in a pebble-in-the-shoe
Kind of way
Climbing trails alone
Wanting to join the conversations of others
So badly I imagine them
The lovers conspire to assignations in places
Of warm shadow
The hikers speak of geological wonders
To the bored or awed and
I pass them all, a tall thin ghost to most,
Made real only by the wheezing of my lungs
No one can see beyond that
To the evisceration of my brain
A woman brought me here once
Held my hand and sipped the wine
Of sweeping vistas in silence
While she guided me
Over rocks and rills to Skytop
We saw for a hundred miles
But couldn’t find the words
I had known her once, before
She never knew me, before or since
And I’ve given up trying to impress my yesterdays
With how bright the plumage has become
On the wings of the doughty bird.
It is dangerous to think what I do
That being alone is a choice, not a fate
And that somewhere on the road ahead, a
Heart as lonely awaits, expectation
Beating loudly on the skins
Seeking, as do I, to find its drummer
10/17/2008 Posted on 10/17/2008
Copyright © 2024 Ken Harnisch
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 10/17/08 at 05:10 PM I enjoy the placement of this and you within it during various points in your life. Interesting how the cell phone has become a part of our safety nets. You make me want to see this place, and I can feel the loneliness. I have to tell you that my sister-in-law, after my brother died, joined a hiking group that has been very enjoyable for her and there are a couple of guys in it that think she's pretty fine. |
| Posted by Tony Whitaker on 10/19/08 at 04:37 AM Wonderful imagery and metaphor. I especially like the reminiscent love that was never meant to be because the man could not "see". Another great one. |
| Posted by Leonard M Hawkes on 10/20/08 at 03:48 AM Yes, I know this--wonderful! |
| Posted by Melissa Arel on 02/20/09 at 01:59 PM After seeing that picture of this place yesterday, I really enjoyed this poem even more.. everything came alive, for me at least. I could really see it all as I read these words. Wonderful, Ken. |
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