University of Virginia Library


106

A MEMORY OF BOYHOOD

The Forest-Ranger's Second Honeymoon

Once, alone in the wilderness I built myself a fire,
In an island in a little stream, alone,
And the water spoke,
With one hundred thousand voices,
Till the day broke.
How the mists rolled down from the mountain,
Bringing happiness;
How the trees were friends to heal my loneliness;
How the trembling island seemed the cloud of my pride;
The campfire was a chariot where my Elijah soul could ride.
How the mariposa lilies in the dim light gleamed,
The stately dress of the wilderness
Where I lay and dreamed.
Oh, once alone in the wilderness I built myself a fire!
Now, my love and I, this night, build again a fire,
And the strange God-breath of the wilderness
Turns to desire.