A Mountain Psalm (A Poem about Mount Robson)

 A Mountain Psalm

(by Joseph Harder)

I’ve seen a mighty glory 

Over the rocky range

At once, provokes a story

Of beauty, sometimes strange

I’ve seen the clouds come dancing

On the perilous mountain peak

And drift down the spiral road

To feed the glacial lake

I’ve seen the falls of water

Crash loud on granite floor

And tumble down in turquoise hues

To reach the sea once more

“A giant among giants

And immeasurably supreme”

Many have her tried her peak

Only few have seen its gleam

From everlasting to everlasting

You, the mountains, frame

And perhaps none more glorious

Than that of Robson’s name

Notes:

"Spiral road" refers to the translation of the Simpcw name for Mount Robson - "“Yuh-hai-has-kun”

“A giant among giants,  And immeasurably supreme” is a direct quote from the journal of Milton and Cheadle who wrote it in July, 1863, when they first caught a glimpse of Mount Robson. 

The last stanza is inspired by Psalm 90:2, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”