The battery grides and jingles,
Mile succeeds to mile;
Shaking the noonday
The guns lunge out awhile,
And then are still awhile.
We amble along the highway;
The reeking, powdery
Ascends and cakes our
With a striped, sweaty crust.
Under the still sky's
The heat throbs on the air….
The white road's dusty
Assumes a dark glare.
With a head hot and heavy,
And eyes that cannot rest,
And a black heart
In a stifled breast,
I sit in the saddle,
I feel the road unroll,
And keep my senses
Toward to-morrow's goal.
There, over unknown
Which we must reach at last,
Day and night thundersA black and chilly blast.
Heads forget heaviness,
Hearts forget spleen,
For by that mighty
Being is blown clean.
Light in the eyes again,
Strength in the hand,
A spirit dares, dies, forgives,
And can understand!
And, best!
Love comes back
After grief and shame,
And along the wind of
Throws a clean flame.
The battery grides and jingles,
Mile succeeds to mile;
Suddenly battering the
The guns burst out awhile….
I lift my head and smile.
