When sudden storm dark-veiled the dusk
And winds because a hurricane
That shrieked in wrath, wild, uncontrolled,
Fear, striking like a metronome,
Would mark our heartbeats. When we saw
The little lighted path to home
Fear left, we knew security.
Not coddling arms, but arms love-strong
Embraced; word-coverlets enwrapped
In peace. The will to conquer born,
We climbed to reach the mountains' comb--
The crest of truth, our destiny.
That habitation is a shrine,
Time-hallowed now among the hills,
To which we still return for strength.
We hear its challenge, as we roam,
To grow soul-tall toward the Light.
For there beneath its lowly dome
Was patterned love's democracy.
