by Gene Goldfarb

The Wind and the Mountain
came down to my house
And banged on the door.

When I answered
The wind said, Come with us.

But what about the woods and
            the creatures? I asked.

The mountain laughed and said,
They are busy and can’t come,
but the rain will be along later.

So I said, Wait here, I have to ask
         my wife,
and they both laughed,
and the whole earth shook.

I went back inside and woke
         my wife,
telling her I have to go
with the wind and the mountain,

And she asked, Why,
         and I said, Because,
and she went back to sleep saying,
         Well, don’t be too long.

So I went back outside, ready
         to go.

And the rain had come
but the wind and the mountain
         were gone.


Gene Goldfarb was born in Germany, grew up in the Bronx (NY), and has now lived on Long Island (Syosset) for over 35 years. Having graduated law school in Springfield, Massachusetts, he became a member of the New York and Pennsylvania bars and briefly entered general practice, also working as a state and local tax editor for Prentice-Hall. He was a hearing officer for two New York state agencies over 30 years. Now, he does volunteer work and otherwise devotes himself to writing. His short story, “Towhattan’s Squaw,” appeared in IDOMO #18 (defunct) in the U.K. His poems have appeared in Bitterroot (defunct) and Slant: A Journal of Poetry, The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, and more recently on WRHU FM (Calliope’s Corner) in 2008, in 2011 Poetry Ark, and Cliterature (Fall 2013). He’s always loved fables and literature that has that quality.