Mountain storm passes through
Pisgah National Forest
Water roars over Looking Glass Falls
Thunder booms… Lighting flashes
Tons of shale hang out over the falls
unfazed by natures fury
*****
Today’s Carolina Blue sky
embedded on flat rocks
Mountain stream gurgles over
wet stones
polished and shaped
over ten thousand summers and winters
*****
Native Americans sat on these rocks
drank from this stream
enjoyed the beauty of the falls
long before we arrived…
to claim it!
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
This is a poem I wrote a year or two ago. I reworked it and added to it so I could present it for an upcoming Old Mountain Press Anthology. I got word today that it has been accepted.
Roth Poetry 
I love this poem–and it packs a message, too!
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Thank you Liz. We take a lot for granted, without ever thinking about how we got it.
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We certainly do.
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I love the imagery of Native Americans sitting on the rocks and living on the land, loving and respecting this beautiful place long before we were here. Beautiful.
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Thank you so much for your comment.
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What is it about a waterfall that is so captivating? Maybe it has to do with the scale of time required to create one, as your poem elegantly reminds us. Also great to be reminded — again and again and again! — that folks were living on this continent for thousands of years before European conquerers/colonizers appeared on the scene with new bacteria/viruses + guns + a “power-over” mindset which allowed us to build a short-sighted and tragically unsustainable way of life…
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I think we have been here so long that we think it has always been this way. Our kids need to be reminded that there was a lot of tragedy and death involved in thier good life. Very sad to look back on the atrocities that were committed. Thank you Will for your thoughtful comment.
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Lovely photos of a beautiful place, Dwight. ❤ An eloquent, haunting poem! Our lifetimes are short, but the beauty of nature continues to develop over millennia! Thank you for your reminder of our duty to preserve, and not destroy nature's creations.
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Tha you Cheryl. Nature does remind us… we don’t always listen.
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Such beauty
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Thank you. It is a gorgeous spot any time of the year!
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Gorgeous 😍
~David
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Thank you, my friend! I appreciate your kind comment.
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What a lovely piece that highlights a connection to the land through raw and stunning imagery! ❤
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Thank you, Layla. Visiting a place like this really does create a strong sense of connection to the land.
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A mountain waterfall is a place of refreshment…thanks for refreshing us with your photos and poetry, Dwight. Congrats on having your poem accepted for anthology!
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Thank you, Lynn for your kind words. It is a wonderful place to visit.
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Congratulations on your poetry acceptance, Dwight! It will be a beautiful and honoring addition to the anthology. 🌄 Gorgeous photos too!
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Thank you, Michele. I am very honored to be considered a part of this anthology community. This is the group I met with two weeks ago in Silva, NC. The photos will not be part of the anthology. It makes me think when I write whether the words can stand alone. To me the Photos and Words go hand in hand.
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You are welcome. You have nothing to worry about – your words definitely stand-alone strongly. Your photos are a bonus!
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Well deserved congratulations
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Beautiful piece, Dwight, and congrats on your poem being accepted for the upcoming Old Mountain Press Anthology. I visited Pisgah National Forest many years ago and it’s beautiful.
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Thank you, Eugenia. It is nice to be recognized from time to time. Pisgha is a beautiful place.
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Most welcome, Dwight!
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Congratulations on your acceptance! Beautifully written…and I love those places and moments where you can feel and almost see the history of the place. 💞💞💞
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Thank yous o much! It is really captivating to drive through those mountains, especially with no leaves on the trees. You can see and feel the history there.
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Congratulations! I love knowing that your poetry has gained recognition elsewhere – as well as here.
Questions: Have you switched to JetPack? Will you, if you have not so far? Why or why nor?
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I don’t know what Jet-pack is. I am still on the free blog here at WP. It seems to meet my need of photos and poetry, so I will probably continue.
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I am glad you are able to keep WP free. That’s wonderful! They are telling us, however, that we are going to lose several features of WP when JetPack kicks in… so I am torn. Don’t want to lose notifications of comments or ability to get stats. But fearful that moving to JetPack will not transfer all my data with it. The jury is out!
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I am hoping to keep things as they are for me. I did not like the box style they came out with so I went back and do the Classic version for my posts. Hope you can get the new version worked out.
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Thank you. I’m working on it!
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Reblogged this on From guestwriters.
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