The Butte Daily Bulletin

"COMMUNION"

"No." I care not for the ruins.
Of some old cathedral town.
One whose battlements and towers.
Are through age now falling down,
These are ruins of a temple,
Made to man-made Deity.
To the everlasting mountains,
I, to them swear fealty.
Give to me the lofty mountains,
That have stood since Time began,
With the wild and trackless forests.
Ne'er been trod by feet of man,
Where the waters flow so smoothly.
And where not a sound is heard
The great silence that surrounds you
As when first there came the word
That from chaos called forth glories
That on every hand we view
Then were born in all their beauty,
Born of Mother Nature true.
And perhaps I then existed.
In some other form than man.
Lived -and moved and had my being,
All according to some plan?
Wander with me to Lake Como,
There it like an emerald lies.
All around it are the mountains.
And is warmed by sunny skies:
Not a breath of wind nor ripple,
Stirs its bosom smooth, serene,
And we gaze upon it mutely.
See the mirrored mountains green.
There's the everlasting silence.
As when first the world was new,
And there breaks upon our vision,
Nature's beauties to our view:
Nimble footed deer are calmly
Gazing on us as we stand,
Looking on the scene enraptured.
Here outspread on every hand
Here the trail is seen but dimly
That leads on to scenes so rare,
Such as never have been painted.
Yet surround us everywhere.
There a waterfall comes dashing,
To the river far below.
From its source a fir-clad mountain,
And which wears a crown of snow
Here the shadows seem to whisper
As they do in old Cathay,
And some Lorelei seems singing.
When the night winds pass that way
Then there is a Resurrection
It is then my longings cease,
For the everlasting mountains,
Fill my heart and soul with peace
And who knows? In the beginning
May we not have been the same
Atoms- by the laws of Nature
Ere we to creation came?
Else whence came this constant longing,
And the bonds of love that bind
Me to them in all their beauty
And I cease to worship find?
When you've seen the mighty river
Sweeping through a mountain gorge;
Seen the mist-like smoke a-hover
From some hidden giant forge
Seen the hills in all their glory
Vivid green with crowns of snow.
Then from out the Great Forever
comes the voice so soft and low
When you've slept beneath the star light
Seen the god of day arise
And his majesty depicted
Glowing in the eastern skies
Felt the cool kiss of the morning
Breezes as they pass along
Then in harmony with Nature
You will raise your voice in song.
When you've felt the mighty silence.
And it held you in its thrall.
when darkness followed twilight.
hid the world beneath its pall,
It is then you learn the meaning.
Of the Great Wide Open Space-
And the vastness of Forever.
Where the hands of Nature trace.
Signs and symbols yet unciphered
by the quondam passersby.
Who has never seen nor questioned
Never deigned to know the why
That the heart of man is longing,
For the secrets still untold,
Which the everlasting mountains,
Ever in their bosoms hold

W. E. HANSON.
Three Forks, Mont.