R.I.P. Gregory Isaacs "The Cool Ruler"

Walking Up Blue Mountain

a hot night walking along steep roads that become goat rails

a rack on my back as we hum tunes to keep going

ankles itching from the bites of sand fleas

there is no glamour in this business

except that we are more free

here in the jungle

than in the city

what we smuggle

is really of such little concern

to all the forces of the universe

as the bright moon rises above blue mountain

as the envelope of stars guides us to our destiny

we are proud ganja runners who work hard to make it

we are the music of life to the shanty town dreamers in the city

I hum a tune of lovers rock for a girl I lost touch with on a beach

in California that I may never see again because loneliness is like that

I hum along with the tune as the tune hums along with me in unison to

heartbeats in my head that play the metronome of my soul as it makes

the pace steady as the feet move me forward like a westbound train

kicking dust into billows as if my feet were steaming along

the ganja farmers will welcome us and fill our racks

for the long journey back down the mountain

maybe I will see the girl that tends the fire

in their shanty camp at night

she always looks at me

with eyes that smile

as bright as the stars

up in the sky tonight

tomorrow will find me

alone again on the beach

my work done with some

money in my pocket

looking out to sea

waiting for a ship

that might be a sign

that might never come

until it is time to go back

up the mountain again

on another ganja run

Written off of a reflection of a long ago memory of my life in Jamaica, while listening to the tune, "Border", sung by "The Cool Ruler", Gregory Isaacs, may he forever rest in peace...