Valleys and Mountain Tops

At early eventide,
When swallows go careening through the sky
And calm prevails,
When the dear day seeks to die
And pink pearl petals
Of evening primrose soft unroll,
When turtle doves coo softly to their mates
And deepening shadows o'er the world
Are cast, creating valleys and high mountain tops
Then peace pervades my soul.

Another valley
I have wandered in;
A valley deep, where doubt and indecision meet
And through the long hours struggle
For final freedom of the soul.
Then when the calm sweet hours
Of full decision come,
A buoyancy and lightness
Scarce describable
Descends upon my soul:
And I am on the mountain top.

Still another . . .
The valley of the shadow,
Where only fluttering heart-beats
Fought.
Then, when the light of life emerged
And I could see and hear once more,
There was no buoyancy,
No rosy mountain-top;
But deep humility, and love,
And consciousness of God . . .
The valleys and the mountain tops!

Kansas Poets
Edited by May William Ward
(New York: Henry Harrison. 1935)
Page 172