Poem December 10, 1960 Issue

"HARMLESS AS DOVES"

Jeannette Hulst Johansson

Grieve not for eagle's flight that sweeps the wide
Dim vastnesses beyond the cloud-hung peaks;
That spurns the gentle lands and, restless, seeks
The spume-stung headlands where the cold rains ride
The hollow winds above the churning tide.
Yours be no aerie where, with claws and beaks,
A brood of eaglets tears its prey, and shrieks
Its proud existence to the mountainside.

There is a gentler way. Here in the sun
Beside the dawn-cool doorstep lilacs swing
With catbirds, orioles, and wrens, each one
Enduing day with song. God gives us wing.
Grieve not for flight-sheared space or storms outrun.
Enough that we are air-borne; that we sing.

Jeannette Hulst Johansson

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