Mount Remarkable

It isn't the highest peak in the range

but somehow it has a presence -

an outline against the sky,

that distinguishes it

from the other hills.

You see it from miles away,

on the horizon

of the surrounding plateau,

with its farmland, brown or green,

according to season.

First glimpses are fleeting,

almost mystical,

but coming closer, it dominates -

dark faced and steep sided,

almost lowering.

A small town

nestles

at its foot,

forever subject

to its late afternoon shade.

The approaching road

seems confronted

with an impassable barrier,

until a sudden turn northwards

follows the range.

Any wonder

that an early explorer

charted its presence

and named it

Mount Remarkable.

One day in a far off city

I caught a cab at the airport

and, in the Australian way,

sat in the front

and talked to the driver.

He told me

how he had once

driven across the continent

and remembered this little town

at the foot of a mountain.

He was tired

and had rested overnight

at an hotel where he received

warm hospitality and friendship,

but had forgotten the name.

“Melrose”, I replied

“At the foot of Mount Remarkable.

I drove through there on my way south this morning.”

He was overjoyed and went home, happily,

to tell his wife.