HAN SHAN GETS A JOB ON COLD MOUNTAIN ❋ Noah Cicero

“Can’t you get a job using your degree”
“I’m sure you’ll get a job by the end
of next week”
“Have you tried Indeed.com”
“Have you tried convenience stores”
“Have you tried job fairs”
“Have you tried Facebook”
“Have you tried watching YouTube
tutorials on how to get a job”

Noah looks up and points at them—
pokes them in the chest—
God made me a poet—
God made Han Shan a poet,
He put Han Shan on Cold Mountain,
and he put me in this desert.

I’ve never asked any of you
to stop making money
to work less hard

For me to write
of Cold Mountain.
I must live there,
at all times.

On the summit, in the caves,
sleeping under the bristlecone pines,
because you can’t live
on Cold Mountain.
You have better things to do.

My job is to bring you water
from the melted snow
that makes its streams,
so when you need Cold Mountain
I’ll be there
to provide you with water.

But for right now,
leave me the fuck alone!
I’m on Cold Mountain
and I’ll come down
when the wind tells me to,
not because of
an ad on Craigslist!