Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN THE HILLS, by CHARLES BADGER CLARK JR.


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN THE HILLS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The shadow crawls up canyon walls; the
Last Line: Somewhere the loud streets thunder, and one time there was a war.
Alternate Author Name(s): Clark, Badger
Subject(s): Canyons; Cowboys; Disasters; Hunger; Smoke; Soldiers; War


The shadow crawls up canyon walls; the rim rocks flush to pink
A sleepy night hawk lurches up among the pines to soar,
And we can hear a thirsty deer tiptoeing down to drink
Among the glimmering birches on the hazy canyon floor.
Sister, sister, it seems a staring pity—
Somewhere there is a city, and one time there was a war.

Around the bend the thickets end in field and garden spot,
And little ranches lifting smokes that make the twilight sweet.
Beneath the smokes the women folks are watching pan and pot,
While joking men are drifting in to smell the sizzling meat.
Sister, sister, and is it truth or lying
That somewhere folks are dying for the want of things to eat?

Along the hill the winds are still, and still, blue shadows rise,
And quiet bats are winging out, but down the canyon floor
The swift creek purls in dusky swirls that mind me of your eyes
And keeps the stillness singing here for ever, evermore.
Sister, sister, and is it true, I wonder—
Somewhere the loud streets thunder, and one time there was a war.




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