A Hymn to Becoming — A Dedication
[Metrical scheme: dactyl-dactyl-cretic-iamb-anapæst]
Cusecs of music from mountain cliff, they tumble to earth,
Splendorous time like a morning sky in hurry of birth;
Miracles fashioned from blaze of wonder kindled in heart
Win the unseen in a lotus mood, and sorrows depart;
Rains would not wait for the songbirds sing of them in a cheer,
Buoyancies purple and glad on beating wings them upbear;
Exquisite, brilliant and scarlet-red, vermilion of dawn,
Symbol of wealthiest beauty’s smile, exalted, up drawn;
Therefore in narrowing lanes as stepped adventurous God
Ignorance deepened, and faltered speeds, and all was a fraud;
Sure at this while he himself began to err and to lie,
Fib and mistake in a pail of night, in darkness to die;
Climbing of Trolltunga mistrust in winter’s deadliest cold, —
Frightful it proved for the bravest soul, there faith to uphold;
Came Heraclitus and throve becoming, fordable flame;
Hymning a moment the flowing rush him calls it to claim.
21 February 2020
Collected Poems: These Hills and Mountains
The featured image is of the famous Trolltunga:
Trolltunga (“the troll tongue”) is a rock formation situated about 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level in Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The cliff juts horizontally out from the mountain, about 700 metres (2,300 ft) above the north side of the lake Ringedalsvatnet.
Popularity of the hike to Trolltunga and rock formation itself has exploded in recent years. The increased popularity has turned Trolltunga into a national icon and a major tourist attraction for the region. Until 2010, fewer than 800 people hiked to Trolltunga each year. In 2016 more than 80,000 people hiked the 27-kilometre (17 mi) round-trip from the village of Skjeggedal, making it one of Norway’s most popular hikes.
This is a very challenging hike, at least 10 hours on rough terrain. There are no shelters on the hike route and no places to buy supplies. However, there is a plan to build a lodge roughly halfway where hikers can rest. There are two emergency cabins along the trail.
The Winds of Wonder 
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