Mount Rainier

There’s Mount Rainier,

looming over Seattle,

in the Pacific Northwest —

an imposing presence.

Snowcapped, with glaciers

feed multiple creeks and rivers ,

when melted in summer.

With conifers and wildflowers

all around, it's spectacular.

Just looking at it's grandiosity

humbles the viewers,

Even the passing clouds

change shape to lenticular.

as they touch the slopes.

But beneath the calm veneer

lies a rumbling stratovolcano —

it can burst, unleashing lahar,

the catastrophic mudflows,

much like Mount St. Helens —

they are part of same mountain,

the formidable Cascade range.

Nature is sure spectacular,

but it can also be brutal.

We must admire the serenity,

but live with awareness.

Nature always commands —

we live in harmony with it,

not the other way around.

Note: I had visited this stunning mountain, in 2016. It can erupt anytime — geologists are actively tracking its geological activities.