We light our fire As the last rays of the sun Disappear from the sky. Hastily we gather Feathery pine boughs To pad the ground Where we will sleep...</p

Hightshoe, Sara

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

REMINISCENCES We light our fire As the last rays of the sun Disappear from the sky. Hastily we gather Feathery pine boughs To pad the ground Where we will sleep. The evening air is cool, But as the fire warms us We speak about our thoughts, The day's impressions. We are in the forest now, Not too far below the timberline. The silver moon glows radiantly Over mountains high above us. Shadows soften their craggy roughness; Snow shimmers on their peaks, And they seem now, Benevolent and kind. But earlier in the day They were hard and tough, Masters of the tiny specks Of human life that crawled about On their great sides. Each step they controlled; Each breath they measured. The unexpected was always present. The chimney that should not have been, The rock that looked so steady and was not, The small tree that looked so fragile Yet proved a sturdy handhold. [39] Sketch T h e stern cliff that looked unclimbable Yet yielded crevices a-plenty In which to plant a toe, or finger. The myriad tiny trails Tha t led us astray Until we perched precariously On the edge of the earth, Looking down, Down, Down, Into a sky-blue lake, An infinitely minute meadow, Or a death-gray boulder field. T h e false summits Tha t lifted our hearts And expectations, Only to end in more gray rock, More ice and snow, And another summit ahead. And finally, the real summit: Truly the top of the world. At last we rested. As we sucked our oranges, T h e bitter odor of the peel Bit into our nostrils, Making more pungent every detail, And forever impressing the memory Upon our hearts and minds. Sunshine bright on the golden prairies T o the east; Shimmering purple-gray storm clouds Climbing high into the western sky, Lightened only by a silver edge; Blue-black sheen of the far distant Mountains; Snow glittering briefly In a vagrant sunbeam; Dull green slopes far below With here and there A lake, iridescent in the sunlight. And then, the descent. A cool mist fell on us, Then light showers. An overhanging ledge Sheltered us. We were dry and protected, Watching the lightning. Suddenly, the whole world was Lighted up, And one tremendous sheet of water Shut out the view. And just as suddenly, It stopped, and the sun Shone weakly On a rain-soaked world. The clouds passed over, And again it was bright and warm, And we were leaving our mountain, Crossing timberline. We wandered down through the forest, But longing for the heights again, We turned and climbed Long into the afternoon, until We reached this resting place. The forest is quiet and peaceful. We seek solitude And here we find it. We are at peace with the world And ourselves. — Sara Hightshoe, H. Ec. Soph. 

English

Reminiscences

https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.500.12876/85250

Reminiscences

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)