We came to where two roads instead of one Led to our goal—you towering Mt. Desire; One smooth and prudent, made for speeding wheels, Swept up the steep ascent in stately curves; The other but a foot-path, faint, obscure, Up-tilted here and there its mask of weed and vine To greet infrequent visitors. Which way would you have chanced, when work-a-day And sordid notes out-sped, each vagrant breeze Invited to a care-free wandering? There seemed no reason for this hidden path; Had heedless followers but deepened trail Where once a pioneer had felt his way? There had been here and there a fresh detour, One such we took, in random, curious mood, And found as just reward for beauty quest When vernal curtain of thick, lacing boughs Had yielded to our eager suit, there hung Deep framed in nature's guarding battlements, A still-life gem, out-breathing atmosphere. There, giants of some dateless past, in sport Had flung abroad rich jewels in the rough; From faintest blush to hues of ardent rose The gleaming crystals lured and beckoned us. A tiny rivulet—the summer heir Of springtime's royal stream, purled modestly Of fabled glory-past; and in the cool Lush soil beside, to share its solitude, A cheerful company in crested blue Abode in closest harmony. Here was a summer idyl told among The Hills ... By brook, rose quartz and blue forget-me-nots, Whose mute command—a golden memory tryst— Though given years ago, we still obey. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SOLDIER by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON TO HORACE BUMSTEAD by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: J. MILTON MILES by EDGAR LEE MASTERS TO A PRIZE BIRD by MARIANNE MOORE THE RIGHT TO GRIEF by CARL SANDBURG |