Move, Mountain, Move

Russell Nichols

To those who can’t stand

the rain:

let it flow

and move mountains.

cry me a spout

for watered mustard seeds

to sprout from well-tended

gardens of grief,

eroding rocks, making hard

places bend to the will

of irrigated tear ducts.

cry me a mountain range

so i can measure variations

in river steepness and rainfall

and calculate the pain

carved in your rugged terrain.

do not blame yourself.

fault the tectonics that try

to shame your way of weathering

and take credit for relief.

there is no relief without release,

says science.

so cry me a new topography

with contours that naturally defy

convention and gravity in the same weep.

let it flow

let it flow

let it flow

from mountains high to valleys low

let us make a new earth.

Author: Russell Nichols

Russell Nichols is a speculative fiction writer and endangered journalist. Raised in Richmond, California, he got rid of all his stuff in 2011 to live out of a backpack with his wife, vagabonding around the world ever since. Look for him at russellnichols.com. View all posts by Russell Nichols