Ballade of the Rockies

Much of the earth behind you remains quite flat
As your travels have brought you many a mile
The forward view is spectacular from where you’re at
Offering up its splendor and own unique style
And though you are far from any remote isle
The vision that confronts you is one that you love
Making you yearn to stay longer than just a short while
Behold the Rocky Mountains towering above

Mother earth’s inner workings thrust them straight upward
Then seismic plate collisions pushed the peaks ever higher
It’s like the prior landscape was violently ruptured
And all the boring parts were just set on fire
Echoes haunt the canyons like songs from a choir
Rushing rivers carved valleys so wide to be proud of
Creating polished stones among the still rugged spires
Behold the Rocky Mountains towering above

You’re gradual approach gets you ever closer now
And the focused details become easier to see
The magnificent scenery makes you utter a “wow”
The beautiful landscape extends up beyond every tree
And deep down into the valley of avalanche debris
With the eye of an eagle and wings of a dove
The solitude surroundings render you absolutely free
Behold the Rocky Mountains towering above

These mountains provide inspiration worth seeing
With majestic tranquility you can’t help but love
You take them in with every sense of your being
Behold the Rocky Mountains towering above

——

My ballade poem in response to Linda Kruschke’s Ballade Paint Chip Poetry Prompt. The Challenge: This week we are writing “Ballade Poetry,” defined by Drury with the following form: Three stanzas rhymed ababbcbC and an envoi (“send-off”) rhymed bcbC, where the capital “C” indicates a refrain. The paint chip words and phrases you have to work with are cowboy, polished stone, raw silk, spinach, avalanche, Rocky Mountains, and robin’s egg. I would like you to pick three of the paint chips for your Ballade. Choose the three that you think have the greatest connection to each other..

See more of my Paint Chip Poetry.