405. I Saw the Clouds by Hervey White. Monroe, Harriet, ed. 1917. The New Poetry: An Anthology

Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.

405. I Saw the Clouds

By Hervey White


I SAW the clouds among the hills
Trailing their plumes of rainy gray.
The purple of the woods behind
Fell down to where the valley lay
In sweet satiety of rain,	5
With ripened fruit, and full filled grain.

I saw the graves, upon the plain,
Of pioneers, who took the land,
And tamed the stubborn elements
Till they were gentle to the hand.	10
Their children, now in fortune’s ways,
Dwell in their father’s palaces.

I saw some old forgotten lays;
And treasured volumes I passed by.
They were but repetitions cheap	15
For any hucksterer to buy.
The clouds, the graves, the worn old song,
I bear them in my heart along.