Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, RAVINE PATH, by MAUD LUDINGTON CAIN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

RAVINE PATH, by                    
First Line: This is not a path for heedless going
Last Line: Healing and peace toward the unwished-for tomorrow.
Subject(s): Hiking; Wilderness


This is not a path for heedless going --
A spur of rock, a blackly naked root
Or crumbling ledge would snare the idle foot --
But lovelier reasons: one would not miss knowing
Where star flowers lean against a shaggy shoulder
Of old oak stump, or emerald shadows turn,
Nearer, to feathery fountain-sprays of fern,
Or mosses robe the knees of some gray boulder.

This is not a path for eager seeking --
Here where wood violets peer from grassy dusk,
And sweet earth smells taunt every breeze, like musk,
There is no need for search, nor hurried speaking:
Feet stumbling blindly, heavy with new-found sorrow,
Need only pause, or follow through the winding
Fragrance and hush, to earn reward in finding
Healing and peace toward the unwished-for tomorrow.





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