Los Gatos Patch Poetry: Mount Hamilton in January

This poem was the result of a call for poems about Santa Clara County from Nils Peterson, the first Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County. The rare and beautiful snow on Mount Hamilton inspired me.

Mount Hamilton in January

Because snow is just that rare

you look east all day,

rounding curve after curve

on the freeway, hands

draped over the steering wheel

dangerously close to the edge

but not so far from yourself

anymore. A mountain

is not indifferent geology,

but a cold and simple love.

The day repeats itself

as you drop into dreams –

messages from the mountain

drift toward you like the tender

uncommon snow, thickening,

obscuring the air. Heavy thoughts

fall away.  The east will glow for you

forever.

—By Los Gatos poet laureate Erica Goss

First appeared on the Santa Clara County Poet Laureate Blog, 2010