Suddenly a green- rose rainbow appears right on your ridge with steamy clouds all around and an orange sun turmoiling . . .
What is a rainbow,
Lord? — a hoop
For the lowly
. . . and you go out and suddenly your shadow is ringed by the rainbow as you walk on the hilltop, a lovely- haloed mystery making you want to pray. —
—Jack Kerouac, Alone on a Mountaintop, from Lonesome Traveler, 1960