Cold Mountain
Phillip Whitman Elvrum
Open handed I tried to live among all people, ideas aloft
Open handed I read the books, I learned the histories, I sang the songs
Until mountains bellowed that my friends are flawed
And not to forget sorrow and all the other Gods
And that my mouth was dirty and that my ears were clogged
And of course that I'm flawed also
And then it stopped
Open handedness had me in it's grasp
Running around frantically
Trying to show off my "open hands"
"Hope, Unhand me!"
I finally yelped
"Let me dwell on bad news
Let me wallow in it"
So came long nights and hunkering down
And there stood Cold Mountain with its trickling sound
When I reached the summit, I made no camp
But I unrolled my sleeping bag in the stream
And let the cold water pour in my ears