Brindley Mountain Poem

By Ramona Maddox Swindall

I am not an artist who by strokes of brush and paint

Brings a thought to life in lustrous colors,

Yet I am an artist just the same.

Paper is my canvas, my pen becomes my brush.

I hope to stir feelings within your heart.

More brilliant than all the rainbows,

The Glory of red, white and blue.

 

Let your ears hear my story, your eyes see the glory,

Allow your heart to hear the song that only she can sing.

She stands proud as liberty, a symbol of beauty and pride --

Of man's devotion to freedom for all.

Standing tall, standing proud,

 

She casts her soft shadow across the valley below,

As if to keep it warm as the evening sun bids good-day

And night whispers hello.

Fifty years before Colonel Cullman,

They named Brindley Mountain with pride.

Brindley is recorded on topo maps to be read far and wide

Named for my ancestors, their love of country, tried and true,

With hard work and steadfast belief in God,

Alabama was born, too.

 

Brindley Mountain is where my heart belongs

Even far away from native soil,

You can still hear her peaceful song.

The gentle wind plays weeping willows like a harp.

Katydids and crickets, bob whites and whip-o-wills

Harmoniously join the symphonic sweet song.

 

She will call your name in silence in the quiet of the night

Her song, so sweet and soothing, will make your heart take flight

Listen with your heart to the ones who are older and wiser,

And the legacy of those gone before.

Tell the world of your proud heritage!

Respect the land and the Brindley name,

And our ancestors who fought and died for this land,

For you and for me, for Brindley Mountain and American Pride,

And for their dreams that they believed could come to be.

 

Note: This poem is dedicated to my grandmother, Eunice Brindley Grimes, to all the Brindleys who have ever lived, or shall ever be, and to all Brindley descendants. Sorry I could not be with on this auspicious occasion, the Charter Meeting of the Brindley International Historic Foundation, and the 152nd celebration of Van Buren Brindley's birth on 11-14-1992.