The Prodigal’s Prayer
| Take me back, O Mountains, Let your gods be mine again I’ve felt the fangs of doubt In the muddled creeds of men. I’ve seen their spires spring From cities steeped in sin, And trodden pulseless pavements, And mingled with the din. I’ve gazed on grand cathedrals That man has built to God With aisles colored crimson Where feet of War have trod. I’ve felt mad oceans roll, Watched them curl and foam, Now I’m wander-weary – O Mountains, take me home. O, let your lone trails lure me From the fevered call of men; Blend me with your mysteries; Make me one with you again. Lead me through sylvan stillness To my cabin by the stream, Let me dream again at twilight When the golden embers gleam. Let your vastness be my temple, And your ermine peaks the shrines, All wrapped in wordless worship, And plumed with frosted pines. And let me ride your ranges’ rim Whose moonlit marvels rise, Works of God there is no doubting, Etched against the skies. Let me hear your winds at twilight, With their vesper voice sublime, As they brush the chords of space To the velvet dance of time. Let the sunsets tip my shrines, With a glowing glaze of gold; Robe my soul in silken silence, Let me worship as of old. Take me back, O Mountains, Till my earthly trail is done, Then shroud me in the shadows Of the crimson setting sun. Encoffin me in hush eternal, Bury me deep in sylvan gloom, Let a summit be my headstone, Let a canyon be my tomb. |
During the past two summer seasons, Protestant church services were held each Sunday in the Community House on the rim. On several occasions “The Prodigal’s Prayer” by Hugh Peyton, Superintendent, Millerton Lake National Recreational Area, Friant, California, was read to the audience. There were numerous requests for copies of the poem.
Mr. Peyton was in the U.S. Army during World War I and went through the thick of it in France. He wrote the poem upon his return to the mountains of Montana that he loves so dearly. He served as Park Ranger and Chief Ranger of Glacier National Park before taking over similar duties in Yellowstone National Park. “The Prodigal’s Prayer” was published in Glacial Drift, Notes From Glacier National Park, Volume 4, Page 89, 1931.
Courtesy of Oregon State Highway Commission, Salem, Oregon
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