At Middlepool Falls

At Middlepool Falls

The Ilnor Gorge on Eskant's Plain
Strikes a concordant, slow, refrain
Of oaths uttered in denial
Against all anguish and trial
Which seek to quell every wonder
And weigh the soul with drab plunder.

I settle there and contemplate
These spectacles that stir debate
And peer and ponder over edge
And hesitate, upon the ledge,
To seek a path and to explore
The visions at the gorge's floor.

Beneath a sky, torn asunder,
Lie brilliant bright peals of thunder
That concuss the air in leisure
And eclipse from sight all treasure
That falls from firmament to plain
Like diamonds hidden in the rain.

I stand and count the steps of jade
That illuminate and cascade
The winding path, a league or more,
And cataract against the shore;
A pool of ardor, calm as ice,
With languid, heart rending advice.

Jaded steps wind down the chasm
Constructing this bright phantasm.
Each trod upon the coiling path
Incurs a formless, benign, wrath
Against deceit and faithlessness
And treachery and soft transgress.

A thousand steps above my head,
Twenty-nine fold this yet to tread.
I pause along the chasm's wall
And contemplate the water's fall
From lip of plain to gorge's floor
And tremble from its son'rous roar.

Like a crash of rhinoceri
That bellows through the hollow sky,
That pervades like focused fury
And dispels all fret and worry,
It echoes on enchanted plain,
And carves Desire in the rain.

I halt and gaze and taste the wind
And find myself a bit chagrined
For though the journey is the goal
I've heard for years pilgrims extol
Each step, each glimpse, each misty kiss
And then I feel, from the abyss,

Like waves of sweet inspiration
That bathe the soul in salvation
And clear the weary, stagnant, mind
And leave the heart so disinclined
To burden brow with fear or hate
Or seek to scorn or to berate.

As I attend this boulevard
With calm resolve and cool regard
I feel the chaste incantation
Like a shining celebration
On this journey of bright esteem
Devoid of any loathsome scheme.

And as the path winds and travels
To a floor of precious gravels
Ruby pebbles and sapphire stones
Coalescing in soothing tones
Sprinkled with a diamond dew;
A mesmerising grand tattoo.

A day, a night, eternity;
A festival, a jubilee.
As steps reel far above my brow
A moment's peace, if you'll allow,
As I away from stairs to jewel;
Bathe tired feet in fragrant pool.

All artifice is stripped away
Each second is a sep'rate day
Each breath a pure revelation
Each thought clear of trepidation.
Each ripple in the basin bright;
A stunning, moonless, star-clad night.

A league of wonder builds a crown
Of peerless marvel and renown
That quells despondency and dread
And weaves with adamantine thread
A cloak of hope that I'll bestow
To all I meet and all I know.