The Lichen
On the wind-raked mountain
only those things grow
that nature has made low.
Proud-crowned heads of forests—
hemlock, spruce and pine—
cede at timberline;
but lichen, creeping upward,
find the summit-stone
and drape it like a throne.
On the wind-raked mountain
only those things grow
that nature has made low.
Proud-crowned heads of forests—
hemlock, spruce and pine—
cede at timberline;
but lichen, creeping upward,
find the summit-stone
and drape it like a throne.