Poem: Alasdair Sclater – Magnificent Rock of the Forest

Our Scottish bard is at it again. It’s been too long since I’ve last posted his words onto my blog, and this entry is as majestic as his last few.

(Kopanina, Czech Republic)

Great rock that spreads among the trees
Face cloven in the display of nature
Crevices everywhere on your sheer face
Granite that speaks of the coming of new life
And old life
Where the trees stand immobile
At the base a cave stands
small crevice in the giant of rock
small place under so many tons of rocks
where a sight can be seen
in the power and the glory of the forest
rock eroded and sculpted
by the water of so many generations
signatures of th almighty
the rock stands
structure of the hills
with sides but bare and dull
presence of the ages
so old and trees grow out of its crevices
they stand finding soil in unlikely places
life about and in the mind a recess
life in its extremes
on the great big block of rock
that stands to dwarf all around
row upon row of cracks and recesses
among the great sculpted picture of nature stand
and mosses climb the cracks
dark and light green presences
among the blue of lichens
and gee and there a fern
to show that plants are active here
lesser celandine in its incarnations
that in summer will throw up yellow flowers
all speak of the flowing force of the rock
where the water flows
and so much plant life grows
and in their force one day
they will break it down
broken by the hand of nature again
as one day it will merge with the hill
to be no more such a vast place
only for now the gentle chipping away of the millennia
and now it stands
huge structure of the glory of nature
and of our Maker glorified
presence of the eternal forest

Cross-posted at Steinblóm.