Oak Mountain Echoes

Mountain Rapture(Linked sonnets)

I. Cry of the Hawk

Upon the highest treetop poised, aware
Of sky above and dizzy drops below,
I spread my wings out wide as they will go
And sunward spring through icy mountain air.
I stake no claim beyond the steeps I climb,
I cannot name the ecstasy I feel;
Yet in this ringing atmosphere I reel
On windswept wings through cloudscapes dearly mine—
My home these heights, my nest this craggy place.
Gifted with sight that needs no guide or chart,
Hunting I glide, and with unruffled grace
I rule and ride the winds that whirl and dart.
Once more alight, exultant from the chase,
I clutch the bright rough world against my heart.


II. Song of the Poet

I can stand anywhere on Mount Cheaha,
Drink in the crystal air like homemade wine,
Stretch out my arms and feel this planet’s pulse
Like my own lifeblood reeling through my veins.
I close my eyes and search my soul for truth,
And find my love for earth is rooted deep
In mountain vales, and born of wind and rain.
I love this rock-strewn, corn- and cotton-sown
Sweet Alabama land, and all the earth
Spread out around it; sand and sea I love,
As far as clock or chain can rule or mark.
Here on a rock I stand in Alabama,
My thoughts like wings unfurled against the sky,
And hug the whole rough world against my heart.

Pages 6-7 (copyright 2001 Joanne R. Cage)

2nd prize, State, 1996.

Honorable mention, National, 1999.