Classic Poem

The Yosemite leaps from the peaks
And plunges down deep into the Valley,
Tossing the Spring from his arms
To her couch of flowers.
Tall as El Capitan the mighty,
From earth to heaven he glistens like a god,
And mountain-loads of snow-waters foam into clouds for his feet.
In thunderous peal on peal
He shouts to all the choral fountains —
To silver-fingered Nevada the dancer,
To Vernal, her dark-browed lover, massive, square-shouldered,
To Illillouette the fairy, tripping in satin slippers down over the rocks.
In huge musical volleys he shouts to them,
And they answer in diapasons rolling from mountain to mountain,
And in songs feather-soft, that float away airily on the wind.

Rushing, yet forever still,
Tiptoeing the tall sequoias,
The cataracts crown the Summer with rainbows,
As they lift crystal cups to her beauty
And chant her praise to the sun.