The Oxford Book of Canadian Verse
On the TrailHelena Coleman (1860–1953)
O
When the wind is in your face,
And a thunderstorm is brewing,
And night comes down apace—
’Tis then you feel the wonder
And immensity of space!
Against the dying day
The ghostly hills are lying,
The hills that stand for ay—
How in the dusk they glimmer
And palpitate away!
How vast the world and void!
No living thing in sight,
As to the lonely prairie
Comes down the lonely night,
But in your heart what freedom—
What sense of buoyant flight!
With life’s exultant pride,
With hope and high ambition,
As on and on you ride,
Till all the old desires
Come galloping beside!
When the wind is in your face,
And the boom of distant thunder
Comes rolling up apace—
’Tis then you feel the wonder
And immensity of space!