St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1884-03-15
THE CYCLONE.
. nm tho hills of Aleka

THE CYCLONE.
twas June; on the hills OF Aleka.
The robin sang out his Eureka.
Above the rlmmcd crest
OF his circlinx nest,
In which were the young,
To which he now sung:
have found it-Eureka! Eureka.
1t was June on the meadows of clover,
1t was June in the heart of the lover.
1t WAS June in the comb
Where the bees made their home,
As they hummcd the low tune,
1t is June, it is June,
And all nature repeated it over.
o, how the sun shone on that morning
1t seemed to only give warning
That Heaven was near.
Never fear. never fear;
The larks song and iinnet
Had such muse in il,
As said: Have good cheer, never fear.
The young farmer went forth TO his blowing
With a joy as he thought of the growing,
With the harvest to come
To gladden. the home;
And he whistied and thought
Of what should he bought
From the harvest OF blowing and sowing.
And the young wife looked forth on her joy,
Twin blessing, a bright girl and boy,
As now hand i'm hand
They climbed furrows of land
Toward the spot where he plowed,
Their father, so proud,
And in cottage and field there was joy.
] see shadow. Up the west
1t creeps-now 'bove the wooded crest
Two shadows meet in one embrace,
Each with an anger in It's face:
They grapple. and go round and round
IN sweeping circles toward the ground:
Deep are their groans fierce Is the breath
That tells OF ruin, wreck ana death.
All, how they whirl through orchard branch,
And grind the trees like avalanche.
They toss through black and naddened air
The toll and fruits of years of care!
Now where the peaceful kline we're fed
1t raises beam of barn and shed,
And leaves the mangled herder dead.
Oh, watch it now and breathe prayer.
Like springing beast from out his lair
1t whirls and sweeps about the spot
Where stands the farmers peaceful cot
Like one white fake of feecy snow
That winter winds have loved to toss
Cross some bleak hill or hollow low
Until amid the whole twas lost.
So that white cot was upward borne
And racked and scanned and outward torn;
Twas scattered many a field acrost,
And, like the breath of snow, was lost.
On swept the giant. fierce and black,
.! send your plying giances back
Across that field where happiness
SO late was bending to caresS,
And see where, in one passing breath,
Life, happiness. are crushed to death.
The mother. rising from the ground,
With many ghastiy, bleeding wound,
Among the ruin peers around:
She hears no voice-all is as still
As silence on a dead sea calm;
Not cen bird essays to trill-
flushed every note of natures psalm.
She calls their names, and mockingly
An echo answers from the air.
And then she upward looked and looked,
As though she thought to find them there,
I'LL, stumbling on a broken beam,
Her eyes are brought once more to ground.
10 1t the horror of dream?
No, there her treasures fast are bound.
Close in their fathers arms they lie,
But death has closed each loye-lit eye.
She tries to wrench the beam away
Then kneelins there, She clasps their clay,
And kisses each dead lip. and cheek.
With stony gaze and fearless eye
she asks the unanswered question: Why7
Till maddened by the awful spell
Or loss. and loneliness. and grief,
She rocked as rocks upon the swell
A life boat Ger ragged reef,
And cried their names, and whispered soft;
wake, husband. darling" as she oft
Had woke them from their morning nap,
Or him. the husband, from his dreams,
To take the darlings on his lap,
All in the bright ming morning beams.
And there the tender neighbors found
The mother, seated on the ground
Trying the 0ft-repeated task.
BY hearts that bleed. and hearts that break,
To battle DEATH and bring to life
The sleepers that will never wake
II was June on the hills of Aleka,
No robin sang out his Eureka,
For the tree and the nest
We're swept by the blast,
And the red-breasted young
To which he had sung
Weredead, on the hills of Aleka.
Three graves on the hills of Aleka,
And stone with the one word, Eureka
Past the storms that may sweep,
And the tears that we weep;
Past the earths tickle wind
In beautiful land,
They have found il, Eureka, Eureka.
&C. II. Bisrdiclr, in Chicago Intcr OCEAN.