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.
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).
