12. Like some gray prophet contemplating doom.
The second time the butte has been described.
16. Ghosts of the ancient forest—or old rain, etc.
Geology tells us that these plains were once covered with forests.
19. That e’er evolving, ne’er resolving sound
20. Gropes in the stifling hollow of the night.
Never fully developing. “Evolving,” “resolving”—technical expressions in music.
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The rush of the rain, the constant flare of lightning, the sudden cessation, as well as the slow and dread beginning, are characteristic of storms in semi-arid countries. This poem reveals every phase of nature on the prairies and none more vividly than the storm.
Define: hurtling, wassail, sardonic, flaw, ravin, murk, cosmic, sodden.