Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE LONG TRAIL: THE MOUNTAIN WALL, by ELIZABETH SEWELL HILL


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE LONG TRAIL: THE MOUNTAIN WALL, by                    
First Line: The long trail calls!
Last Line: The snows drift deep thro' the closing night.
Subject(s): Mountains; Roads; Travel; Hills; Downs (great Britain); Paths; Trails; Journeys; Trips


The long trail calls!
It is out and over the mountain wall.
Stubborn the fight for the crowded pass—
The sheer swift fall, the boulder's mass;
The night's sick howl, the sleepless tread;
The blue wood-smoke and the campfire's red,
With the covered wagon drawn near the blaze,
The harness at hand, while the halter plays
A length away where the restless feet
Startle the thickets and, sudden and fleet,
Small woodland wild things scurry. Afar
The hoot of the owl. Thro' the treetops a star.

So the pass is won; and the ridges leap
Away below into swing and sweep,
With cradled valleys rich and warm
Whose festal promise out-weighs the storm.
New walls lift fair and home-lights glow;
Marigolds bourgeon and touch-me-nots blow
From the open door. The orchards swing
Up the nearer slopes and the harvests ring
With gold the valley. The long-drawn sheds
Murmur of comfort, the majestic tread
Of lordly stallions, of herds that pass,
Where the slopes sink down to the long blue grass.

But the snows come soon and the snows lie late.
The corn stands nipt and the blazing grate
Speaks of black frost. The cattle low
In the scanty stalks and the spent ricks show
The huddled sheep; while far and white
The snows drift deep thro' the closing night.





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