I remember a hundred lovely lakes

I remember

a hundred lovely lakes,

and recall the fragrant breath

of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees.

The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk,

opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets.

It has given me blessed release from care

and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day.

It has been a return to the primitive and the peaceful.

Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my

blood and benumbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail;

and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn,

my cares fall from me – I am happy.

- Hamlin Garland -