At first read, the image is simply of a golden mountain covered in crimson lichen, but after several reads, the words seem to have a relationship that is more complex, as if the lichen is embracing the mountain and becoming one with it, just as two people in a relationship embrace each other and become one unit. Rereading the poem offers up other images too, such as "If you are the profaned city / I am the rain of consecration" (Paz). Here, the relationship between the positive first line and the opposing second line seems to change. The first line has become the "problem" line and the second line the "solution" line, and the relationship is transposed, just as power and leadership can change from time to time in any relationship. Rereading this poem brings out even more complexities and underlying meanings in the poem, so it is easy to...
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