Poem September 11, 1937 Issue

Standing in the Wind

MURIEL CULP BERRY

Far up the mountainside there stands a tree,
Sturdy and gnarled, and marking timber line.
Windswept by many a winter: driving snows
And cruelty of icebound night it knows.
Yet at its bouldered feet anemones lie,
Petalled reflections of the summer sky;
While all its lovely branches turn one way,
Straight to the roselight of each newborn day!

Patient, courageous, calm! Lo, it is thine
To gauge endurance by this mountain pine.
Gaining the summit, bid temptation flee:
Let not sharp, lonely doubtings baffle thee!
O, when the human strives with the divine,
Rejoice, rejoice! God's child shall surely stand,
Swept by His cleansing wind, held by His hand.
So shall each willing thought directed be,
Straight to the lovelight of eternity!