Page:Poems Bradford.djvu/18

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THE WIND IN THE PINES.
The wind is blowing through the pines
That stand like sentinels of God;
It sounds like distant chapel chimes
In a church by man untrod.

O wind in the pines, you wring my heart
With a feeling of exquisite pain!
I hear you sigh as in days gone by,
And I long for the pines again.

The pines are standing straight and tall
With spires that touch the sky;
And deep in my heart I shrine them al!
With a love that will not die.

In fancy I see what I saw as a child—
A forest of pines on fire;
The wind is blowing fierce and wild;
It roars like an organ choir.

The red flames leap to the very crest;
They crackle and roar in glee;
They fill with fright the adult breast,
But they bring no fear to me.

They stand like flaming swords of light
'Gainst a black and inky sky;
The stars grow dim and hide their light,
And the wind goes rushing by.

But the One who watches over all,
Brings us safely to our goal;
Though the flames leap high and the great pines fall,
They harm not a human soul.

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