Mount J'Dolly ........................................
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Once upon a rainy day
(I think it was in early May) A great idea popped in my brain: I'll go walking in the rain! Because, no doubt, the rain will stop And when it does I'll be on top of Mount J'Dolly where I know The Lilly Lalley Lilacs grow. It's also where the rainbow ends If you believe my closest friends Who say it is a magic place A wild, secret, pulsing space. They also say in whispered tones That on the mountain they've seen bones. They haven't told me just what size. (They guessed the bones were Thaylon thighs?) And hidden close behind some rocks They swear they saw a dancing fox. They startled him as they drew near So then (they say) he disappeared. He didn't run. He didn't leap. He vanished! Pop! Without a peep! Skeptical of all their talking I set out and started walking. Down the stairs and out the door, Across the street past Annie's store. Round the block past Mrs. Meat (Her winning pansies "can't be beat!") Down the road past Mr. John Who brags of his synthetic lawn. I passed the shops for Frisbee mending, Passed the place for money lending. Inside the store I saw their eyes Gazing out with cool surprise. Quickly, though, those eyes looked down With grown-up haste, with A-Dult frowns. But I ignored these austere goons 'Cause soon I'd see the Nuly Loons And mottled Botty Beetle's shells And Starry Trees and Acorn Bells. The edge of town was drawing near. I swallowed hard the taste of fear. The path that had been smooth and flat Grew muddy, bumpy, steep and fat. I thought about my dry, warm home, The garden and the garden gnome... ...But Mount J'Dolly had REAL gnomes With hands of cheese and hair of foam. I knew I had to persevere. I'd reach my goal, that much was clear. I marched right on in faith and trust. I thought one thought: Mount J or bust! |
So as I walked and walked along
I began to sing this song: "Just keep going, Silly The rain is no big thing! Just keep going, Silly It feels so good to sing!" Almost Almost ALMOST THERE. Something different in the air. The trees were spiky and quite mangled. The vines upon them looked quite tangled. The roses weren't in tidy rows. The pansies didn't strike a pose. My safe, familiar world was fading. This Unknown was exhilarating! My breath was short, My legs were sore But still I walked a few steps more. At last I turned the final bend. At last I'd reached my journey's end. So this was Mount J'Dolly, Friends. Through the sheets of falling rain I saw no Crabley Crying Cranes. I saw no disappearing fox. There was no golden treasure box. The flowers, bugs and other creatures Showed no wild, magic features. They only looked a bit less tame Than those that lived from where I came. I sat right down to clear my head "It's really no big thing," I said. But somewhere something felt quite dead. That was when the rain stopped. Down below, through valley mist It looked as though the land was kissed By beaded, glowing, pearly lips, By angels of the raining drips. And then emerged the color wheel: Amber, mauve and sage and teal. All the colors glowed like gold, Like looming fairy tales of olde. It spread across the sky forever, Past June and autumn and December. I breathed a breath of great relief Of altered (but not bashed!) belief. So I returned to town that day (I think it was in early May) And thought one thought of Mount J'Dolly That was neither farce nor folly: It really WAS a magic place, A wild, secret, pulsing space. In years to come, When people asked, I said with my excitement masked That onlly those who go will know. "So go," I said. "So go. So go." |
