Ha Ha Tonka
Stone quarried on the grounds is railed
to a bluff. What is not a castle
is named a castle. A man leaves a sign,
a testament to his vanity. Towering
above a lake, imposing on the land,
its wealth succumbs to nature. Flames
that will not eat stone gnaw at the inside,
leaving nothing but stone that is not a castle.
And the land lives on,
preserved for more than one man.
Trails, paved and not, skirt the ruins,
pass above and below them. Berried cedars
cling to the cliff walls, while oak and walnut
line the hillsides, outliving the beams
and woodwork that once graced those ruins.
As heron fish on its shores, the lake is fed
by a spring pouring from the limestone wall.
The naturally hewn walls of the bluff
and its stone arch are the true castle to this land.
The prompt for Take Me With You from Lillian at dVerse Poets Pub
is to write a poem as a travelogue of sorts, with the name of the site in the title.
~ click images for larger view in new tab ~
The “castle” at Ha Ha Tonka was built in the early 1900s and was consumed by fire in 1942. The estate is now a Missouri State Park that features 3700 acres of forest that include caves, sinkholes and bluffs overlooking the Lake of the Ozarks. Other Ha Ha Tonka posts, including photos, can be found here.
~ Day 29 ~
rivrvlogr 
I enjoyed this longer piece from you, Ken.
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Thank you, Robbie.
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I like the emphasis on the stone arch at the end and the observation that “its wealth succumbs to nature”.
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Thank you, Frank. People go to the park to see the ruins, but those are almost incidental to the surrounding beauty.
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Its wonderful to see how nature has reclaimed the land. As you say, the castle becomes incidental. (K)
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Thanks, Kerfe. The walls against a blue sky make a dramatic photo that I can’t help but take, but 90% of my time is spent hiking the trails. There’s so much to see.
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Very interesting story of the invincible being once a gain proved wrong!
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Imposing as the walls are, they continue to crumble. Thank you, Dwight.
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Remind me to photograph that castle when this pandemic thing is over and crossing state lines is good again. Loved the poem!
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Thank you. 🙂
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And another beautiful state park of which I was totally unaware. Thank you for taking us there!
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And thank you!
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Love this! We used to take our students there. Your poem says it all.
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Thank you. It’s a beautiful place.
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Your post makes me want to pack up and head for Missouri!! Thanks so much for at least a vicarious jaunt.
Missouri Parks should enlist you as an official advocate.
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😀 Thank you.
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Looks like a beautiful place to explore.
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That it is. 🙂
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This is quite wonderful. I love the ending where you compare the natural stone walls to the manmade castle walls. Isn’t it true? Nature always outlasts humans and human edifices. So glad you took us here….a place I was not familiar with until your post. Thank you!
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Thank you, Lillian, and thank you for the prompt.
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