68
poems.
She was a youthful maid;
Her form was slight, her face so mild and fair;
And there she knelt and pray'd;
And the cold night-wind wav'd her golden hair.
Her form was slight, her face so mild and fair;
And there she knelt and pray'd;
And the cold night-wind wav'd her golden hair.
Hark! a loud rushing sound
Booms like the thunder from the distant west;
The dark and gloomy ground
Gleams in a moment like a shining crest.
Booms like the thunder from the distant west;
The dark and gloomy ground
Gleams in a moment like a shining crest.
The prairie blazes bright!
The storm of fire roars, hisses, round;
The dark and silent night
With wild grandeur is all brilliant crown'd!
The storm of fire roars, hisses, round;
The dark and silent night
With wild grandeur is all brilliant crown'd!
She rushes to the flame!
Her mantle blazes, and she speeds away;
Afar she casts the same;
And a small hillock beams, clear as the day!
Her mantle blazes, and she speeds away;
Afar she casts the same;
And a small hillock beams, clear as the day!
Then soon 'tis dark and sear;
But there she stands in safety! while the moon
Beams on her face, where fear
Has now no home, but joy shines as the noon.
But there she stands in safety! while the moon
Beams on her face, where fear
Has now no home, but joy shines as the noon.
Then as the morning rays
Shine o'er the barren desert, then she knows
Her own sweet mother prays;
And in the east her own bright river flows!
Shine o'er the barren desert, then she knows
Her own sweet mother prays;
And in the east her own bright river flows!
1846.
