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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
GRAND CANYON, by GRACE CONNER HARRIS
First Line: Through the webby mist
Last Line: For the perfection of tomorrow.
Subject(s): Earth; World
First Line: Through the webby mist
Last Line: For the perfection of tomorrow.
Subject(s): Earth; World
Through the webby mist
Of mysterious living
I put out my hand uncertainly --
A great canyon spoke --
"Through millions of years
I have selected and discarded,
Torn down and rebuilt,
Cut and fashioned.
The white-robed glacier has performed his surgery
With delicate precision,
Impetuous waters have carved
With accurate fingers,
Vagrant winds have spread their story
With undulating lines,
And Mother Earth has rocked
Unceasingly."
I seemed suspended
Between the patient years of endeavor
And the swift shuttle of achievement,
For the briefest flash
Of a gossamer wing
I was one with the ageless rock,
The shimmering bird
And the frail insect on my hand.
And I learned --
That Earth has no destructive forces.
Water and wind can change
But not obliterate.
Ice and fire can transmute
But not destroy.
The destruction of yesterday
Gathers the beauty of today
For the perfection of tomorrow.
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