Her life was touched with early frost,

Abound and glow yet with the ruby sorrel;‘Twas there the bluebirds fought and played together,Their quarrel was a flying bluebird-quarrel;Their nest is firm still in the burnished cherry,They will come back there some day and be merry;O turn once more.O turn once more!The spring we lingered at is ever steepingThe long, cool grasses where the…

Of the green earth, but holding even that joyBack from their life;Bidding them feed on hope,A plant of bitter growth,Deep-rooted in the past;Truth, ’tis a doubtful artTo make Hope sweetenTime as it flows;For no man knowsUntil the very last,Whether it be a sovereign herb that he has eaten,Or his own heart.O stern, implacable Muse,Giving to…

Hear the bellows belch and roar,Splashing light on roof and floor:From their nest the feathery sparksFly like little golden larks:Hear each forger’s taunting yell,Tell–tell–tell–tell–Tell us what we make, my master!Hear the tenor hammers sound,Ring-a-round, ring-a-round;Hear the treble hammers sing,Ding-a-ring, ding-a-ring;Hear the forger’s taunting yell,Tell–tell–tell–tell!Though the guess be right or wrongYou must wear it all life…

Goes down to Hudson BayOr Lake Superior;The stars are up, and far awayThe wind sounds in the wood, wearierThan the long Ojibwa cadenceIn which Potàn the WiseDeclares the ills of lifeAnd Chees-que-ne-ne makes a mournful soundOf acquiescence. The fires burn lowWith just sufficient glowTo light the flakes of ash that playAt being moths, and flutter…

Who, in his prime, a herd of antelopeFrom sunrise, without rest, a hundred milesDrove through rank prairie, loping like a wolf,Tired them and slew them, ere the sun went down.Akoose, in his old age, blind from the smokeOf tepees and the sharp snow light, aloneWith his great grandchildren, withered and spent,Crept in the warm sun…

Break softly in upon my daysAnd lightly come and go.A foot so brisk I said must bearA heart that’s clean and clear;If that companion blithe would come,I should be happy here.But though I waited long and well,He never came at all,I grew aweary of the void,Even of the light foot-fall.From loneliness to lonelinessI felt my…