Down from the Mountain

Down from the Mountain

written after Geoffrey Philp's "Beyond Mountain View"

.

Our mountain was not paradise,

but most days it was close enough.

We lived among places

whose names sounded as if

they were plucked from children’s books;

Guava Gap, Duppy Gully,

the meandering Wag Water River.

It takes more to make a fairytale

than whimsical names and natural beauty.

Happily ever after is not always in the cards.

.

My mother learned the sensation

of cool tile, pressed against

her cheek, while rude

boys ransacked our home;

the cold blue of a shotgun

pressed between her shoulder blades,

arresting my father more surely

than iron fetters, all the while,

arguing over killing people;

killing my people.

.

The clock had started ticking.

Time lurched quickly on.

I tried to imagine a happy ending.

In my dreams, I zigzagged

the maps of my mind,

returning to the place I was born.

Yet, those images did not

quite mask the fear

that I would never again feel at home,

no matter where I found myself.

.

Ready, or not, like an avalanche,

down from the mountain that final time;

past Stony Hill, Red Gal Ring –

Long Lane seemed shorter than ever.

We bore down fast on the Palisadoes,

where an airplane waited to whisk me away.

I kept my gaze forward, fixed on the sea,

knowing the mountains were mine no more.

.........................................................................................................................

[Author's Note: This poem was inspired by "Beyond Mountain View", written by Geoffrey Philp and included in the collection "Dub Wise", published in 2010 by Peepal Tree Press. You find the book online HERE, or HERE. You can also read and follow Geoffrey here on Vocal - HERE.]