Mountains

The Universe covers Oh! so much

A subject so complex and so vast

So it’s time to itemise my thoughts

With memories from the past

I’ve flown the skies so many times

And high above the earth we soar

Looking at the world beneath us

Different Countries and Oceans and more

But the one thing that always compels me

To reflect on those flights again

Is the sight of the tips and mountain tops

Whether America  or Austria or Spain

But because I come from the U S of A

My thoughts will always return

To the Appalachian Mountain Range

For which my heart will always yearn

Starting down in Georgia and up to Pennsylvania

The Blue Ridge Mountains stand

With their bluish haze against the sky atop

Which makes them a spectacular scene so grand

In the valley down below the National Park of Shenandoah

The Great Smoky National Park and   Blue Ridge Parkway too

It is where the visitors come for vacations in their thousands

As there is so much here that they can do

Sioux Manahoacs,  Iroquois  and Shawnee

Were the inhabitants of the valley  in times now long past

But in the 17th Century when the area was Colonised

The American Indian population diminished quite fast

There are Oak and Hickory forests on the slopes of the Appalachians

Then there is grass , Shrubs and Hemlock and some Oak-pine

The trees there are heaven for myriads of birds

And they all seem to get along quite fine

There’s Humming |Birds and Grouse  and even wild turkeys too

And running wild is the Boar  and  the  occasional Deer

Where in times now long gone the Indians would be hunting

Not forgetting the Black Bear who was their greatest fear

Now we live in a world where this beauty is preserved

A heritage that’s treated with love and care

So that future generations will be able to enjoy

The Blue Ridge Mountains and the lovely mountain air

Dennis Shrubshall  9th October 2011