Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


EL PONIENTE by RUTH COMFORT MITCHELL

First Line: BENEATH THE TRAIN THE MILES ARE FOLDED BY
Last Line: IT IS YOUNG AIR WE BREATHE. THIS IS THE WEST!
Subject(s): DESERTS; FOOD & EATING; WEST (U.S.); SOUTHWEST; PACIFIC STATES;

Beneath the train the miles are folded by:
High and still higher thro' the vibrant air
We mount and climb. Silence and brazen glare;
Desert and sage-brush; cactus; alkali;
Tiny, low-growing flowers, brilliant, dry;
A vanishing coyote lean and spare,
Lopes slowly homeward with a backward stare
To jig-saw hills cut sharp against the sky.
In the hard turquoise rides a copper sun:
Old hopes come thronging with an urge, a zest:
Beside the window gliding wires run,
Binding two oceans. Argosy and quest!
Old dreams remembered to be dreamed and @3done!@1
It is young air we breathe. This is the West!



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