William H. Simpson

From “In Hopi-land and Other Lands”

WORDS, such as dreamers utter;

Songs, played on dulcet strings;

Pictures, that hold beauty deathless—

Here, on the verge,

They fade away to dull colors,

Faint songs,

Echoes of words.

Let the sunsets paint it,

And the rainbows.

Let the pueblos whisper of it—

Voices of long ago.

Let the red river sing of it—

A wild thing, caged, escaping.