Some Things Are Timeless

When we returned to the old homestead,
Through tears we grieved to see
The lilac-and-orchard-joy was dead.
      Bare silence stood
      Where a song-filled wood
Had lured with its mystery.

The home that sheltered us--We were ten--
Had dwarfed, yet the echoes rang
A challenge to bid us to dream again.
      The mountains still high
      Touched remembered sky
And the same loved river sang.