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The Book of American Negro Poetry/The Hills of Sewanee

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3893259The Book of American Negro Poetry — The Hills of SewaneeJames Weldon JohnsonGeorge Marion McClellan

THE HILLS OF SEWANEE

Sewanee Hills of dear delight,
Prompting my dreams that used to be,
I know you are waiting me still to-night
By the Unika Range of Tennessee.

The blinking stars in endless space,
The broad moonlight and silvery gleams,
To-night caress your wind-swept face,
And fold you in a thousand dreams.

Your far outlines, less seen than felt,
Which wind with hill propensities,
In moonlight dreams I see you melt
Away in vague immensities.

And, far away, I still can feel
Your mystery that ever speaks
Of vanished things, as shadows steal
Across your breast and rugged peaks.

O, dear blue hills, that lie apart.
And wait so patiently down there,
Your peace takes hold upon my heart
And makes its burden less to bear.