Cotopaxi

She is suddenly there before your eyes
Her steep cone rising high
With lots of mud flow prints to see
Ancient eruptions lie
Still steaming at this moment
A giant in repose
She is south of Quito
But on certain times she shows
Her lovely face I see her
From my apartment window high
Especially in the morning
When the clouds are high

There she sits atop the Andes
Glowing almost she
Holds my eyes and spirit
For close by I like to be
Nearer to Latacunga
Thats north east from here
She is an active strato volcano
And through the clouds its clear

Her eruptions are spectacular
And dangerous to be sure
Around her base green valleys
That our eyes cannot ignore
Its because all year irrigation
The Chota Valley too
In the land of locust trees and cacti
It is true

Some really amazing specimens
And prickly pears as well
And below those picture terraces
Sugar cane they sell

Lots and lots of sugar
And alfalfa too
And lots of different vegetables
The soil there good and true
Full of deep earth minerals
And the melting snow
And the sun that springs to life
Everywhere you go

Its really such a wonder
As it climbs into the sky
And smiles at me in Quito
Which in fact is why

I use to get up early
And watch the mountain glow
The sun upon the snowy cone
it is beautiful, you know
Everything about it
Its stands there so serene
A really majestic mountain
Bounded by the green

And hundreds of tiny sparkling falls
Pour down from its height
Picking up the sun of course
And glowing in the light
Like so many multi coloured prisms
Everywhere
I was so fascinated to methat she and I
Were there.

Its very very fertile
Vegetables grow fast
The Quichua are the wizards
Of course their die is cast
They know the land they farm on
They know its frantic ways
How cold it gets at eventide
And how warm during the days

Late afternoon can see her
In a gold cloak for us all,
She is playing with our eyes somewhat
With the sky and the light on call
She is everything to everyone
But a special gal for me
She is dangerous that is obvious
But her beauty I can see