Writing Prompt: Five Line Poem and a Page

Even though I'm far away from my former writing group, they have still been active.  Maybe even more active than I've been.  Last week, their prompt was as follows:

1. Start by composing a five-line poem, using the following structure, using a place of significance:
1. Line one:  one word, a noun
2. Line two:  two words, adjectives
3. Line three:  three words, verbs
4. Line four:  A sentence that expresses some kind of feeling
5. Repeat line #1, the noun
• Example:
  Chair
  Comfortable, soft
  Calling, beaconing, asking
  You are my favorite place for reading, and thinking.
  Chair
2. The finished verse probably could stand on its own as a nice poem.  For this exercise, however, we used it as an introduction.
3. Next, write about the place of your choosing for a page.

For this exercise, I whipped up the following:
--------------------
Mountain
Tall, rugged
Sloping, climbing, ascending
Every sight is inspiring
Mountain

There have only been a few mountains I've seen in my life, but every one has been an imposing and inspiring sight. They climb so high into the air, looming over everything else around them. They capture the clouds, altering the environments in strange ways. They capture the water, channeling it to shape rivers and lakes around them. They accumulate snow, giving them an elegant coating of white.

I’ve previously seen the Italian Alps and the Cascade Mountains, which are impressive ranges in their own right. Of all the mountains I’ve seen, however, I remember the Zugspitze the most. From the ground, it is an impressive sight, with its solid double-pronged slab of stone stretching skyward. It appeared brilliantly white against the sun. Taking a cogwheel train up its slopes, I was astonished to find the mountaintop a totally different climate. It was summer in Garmisch far below, but at the top of the Zugspitze, there was still patches of snow all around the rugged stones.

At the top of the Zugspitze is a sturdy, convenient facility for travelers to take gondolas up and down the mountains. Even outside of the skiing season, there were plenty of travelers exploring and hiking around the area. A small window served hot drinks and hot bratwursts for paying customers; incidentally, that was where I had my lunch. Even in the midst of the crowd, it was a calm and unique experience to eat a German bratwurst some nine thousand feet above sea level.

My biggest prerogative there was to take pictures. It was a clear day, with a deep blue sky and a clear view of the valleys below. I could see the modest sprawl of Garmisch and other German towns below, in addition to the Eibsee lake. With a number of birds flying around the area, I found it incredibly easy to take epic shots of the valley with birds in flight. The surrounding rocks, so jagged and angular, provided even more unique picture opportunities. A single maypole at the edge of the slope provided a few of my favorite pictures for that day. From there, I could also see the peaks of many surrounding mountains, and the cavernous valleys in between.

Later, from the ground, I would take pictures of the Zugspitze and other mountains with a fine layer of mist and clouds against a glowing sunset.

These days, in Utah, I find myself regarding a myriad of mountains in all directions. They’re all inspiring and beautiful, and I hope to take many fine photos in the near future. As it is though, my fondest memories of mountains lie in the peak of the Zugspitze. It’s the highest spot I’ve been on the Earth, and it had some of the most beautiful views I’ve seen.

More about this trip can be read here.