Classic Poem

When I came on from Santa Fe,
The desert road by night and day,
The desert wilds ran far and free
Beneath the wind of desert sea.

But — ah! my heart! — to know again
The scent of rain, the scent of rain!

And I'd in fancy scale the air
Beyond those yellow mountains bare,
And so with dizzy bird survey
A thousand miles of shining day.

But — oh! my heart! — to feel again
The wet of rain, the wet of rain!

And wakeful all the night I'd lie
And watch the dark infinity,
And count the stars that wheel and spin,
And drink the frosty ether in;
And I would hear the desert song
That silence sings the whole night long,
And day by day the whisper pass
Of parching heat through desert grass.

But — oh! my heart! — to hear again
The drip of rain, the drip of rain!

When I rode on from Santa Fe,
That desert road by night and day,
There came at last a little sigh,
A puff of white across the sky.

And — ah! my heart! — I knew again
The scent of rain, the scent of rain!