To use the antiquated metaphor of a paintbrush

stroking the sky creating brilliant hues, chiaroscuro,

the simplest form of beauty.

The heavens merely blanket the subtle art below.

One can be so overcome by this simultaneous complexity and simplicity.

To describe the protruding creatures from the earth as “mountains” would be inadequate.

Billions of years, an endless battle rages within the Earth herself.

Fire against water, tension and release, a symphony of cacophony rooted in Her core,

in our core,

stretching towards the heavenly blanket,

competing tones of physicality and spirituality blend creating a beauty beyond the simple paintbrush.  

Alike in our roots from the core, alike in a mountainous solidarity, standing together

-a paradoxical concept.

Beneath the blanket, above the core

each organism stands resolute and undeniably alone.

Alone in thoughts,

alone in actions,

and together we are divided,

yet,

united by a single similarity-our own division.

A single aspen cannot stand on its own.

We may see it as such but,

as is the curse of humanity, our sight fails us.

For, beneath the soil every stem is connected

 creating an individual expansive organism.

A single mountain cannot make a range.

 It can merely stand and bear the brunt of erosion alone

-a geological masterpiece lacking the magnificence of the dominance of the landscape.

A single human being cannot stand alone.

He can stand upon the Earth, embracing all that makes him unique.

A singe mountain is unique, as is an aspen.

Man is unique, yet, no different than nature.

We cannot stand alone.