The Aged Elder Sings of the Wichita Mountains
these old and ancient mountains
still stand, but not so tall;
water and wind have worn them down;
the prairies watch them fall.
the prairies watch and whisper
at the summits slow descent;
in the thunderstorm I have heard
their bittersweet lament:
fire and rain – they purify;
the smell is strong and sweet,
but the price to pay is high;
and the soul is weak.
these mountains love this message,
sung low against the earth,
though once they would not listen
in the young years of their birth;
but now the aged mountains
take up the prairie’s hymn
and sing it to the valleys
where it echoes in the wind:
fire and rain – they purify;
the smell is strong and sweet,
but the price to pay is high;
and the soul is weak.
I too have faced the fierce winds
and tasted rain and fire,
and I have watched my prayers ascend
toward heaven ever higher.
soon I will seek my rest there,
after standing firm and long,
through the many storms on earth that
from a faint soul forge a strong.
– Jerry Dan Deutschendorf