Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MOUNTAINS, by ABBIE HUSTON EVANS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MOUNTAINS, by                    
First Line: Wind blows upon them salt-edged from the ocean
Last Line: And the dipper all alone in the north!
Subject(s): Mountains; Hills; Downs (great Britain)


Wind blows upon them salt-edged from the ocean,
Rain beats upon them, blackening the stone,
Frost heaves the ledges with obscure commotion,
And the hilltops bleach like bone.

Dwindling mountains are they on a dwindling planet,
These that look so solid, these that show so fair;
Wind and rain and frost and hail set tooth to the granite,
It wastes like smoke into air.

Though they now are passing like a slow word spoken,
In the inch of time wherein man stands alone
He sees their rock-knees holding, sees their flanks unbroken,
And his heart drinks strength from the stone.

Yet they are at best but a short-lived generation,
Such as stars must laugh at as they journey forth.
Think of old Orion, that great constellation,
And the Dipper all alone in the north!





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