(Lines written in 1909 in honor of John Muir)

By Henry Meade Bland

A spirit that pulses forever like the fiery heart of a boy;

A forehead that lifts to the sunlight and is wreathed forever in joy;

A muscle that holds like the iron that binds in the prisoner steam;

Yea, these are the Trailman’s glory; Yea, these are the Trailman’s dream!

An eye that catches the splendor as it shines from mountain and sky;

And an ear that awakes to the song of the storm as it surges on high;

A sense that garners the beauty of sun, moon, or starry gleam;

Lo, these are the Trailman’s glory; Lo, these are the Trailman’s dream!