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Far
Horizons
by
Bliss Carman
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THE
THUNDER BIRD
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WHAT
of our Lord in the sky,
Whose mighty pinion
Over the void of the blue
Swept in dominion?
When the slow beat of his wings
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Rustled
with thunder,
All the tribes knew it and stood
Spellbound in wonder.
Far in the canyon of day
Was his rock-dwelling,
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When
he would go or return
Was no foretelling.
Trackless untamed and aloof
Dwelt the Far-seeing,
Giver of life-giving rain,
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| Quick
death decreeing.
Then came the greedy of heart,
The white destroyer,
Casting his noose in the air,—
Reckless decoyer.
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Taking the god in a trap,
Taming his power,
Harnessed and broken to toil,
Sold by the hour.
What of the Lord of the storm,—
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The
desert’s vastness,—
Once we revered in our hearts,
Safe in his fastness?
See where the palefaces still
Cower in panic,
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Knowing
their master at bay,
Instant, titanic,
When, dealing beauty and death,
From the crossed wire
Crashes the god over all—
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| Thunder
and fire. |
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