Prairie Dawn by Willa Cather

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend September 6, 2014   Prairie Dawn   Willa Cather

A crimson fire that vanquishes the stars; A pungent odor from the dusty sage; A sudden stirring of the huddled herds; A breaking of the distant table-lands Through purple mists ascending, and the flare Of water ditches silver in the light; A swift, bright lance hurled low across the world; A sudden sickness for the hills of home.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   “Prairie Dawn” was originally published in Cather’s collection April Twilights (The Gorham Press, 1903). A sister poem “Prairie Spring” appeared as the prologue to her novel O Pioneers! (Houghton Mifflin, 1913).   Willa Cather was born in Gore, Virginia, in 1873. She was known widely for her novels and also published numerous books of poetry, essays, and letters. Cather died in New York in 1947. Poetry by Cather   April Twilights and Other Poems (Everyman’s Library, 2013) "Prairie Spring" by Willa Cather "The Prairie Town" by Helen Santmyer "To make a prairie (1755)" by Emily Dickinson Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038