Alexander Spotswood Discovers the Valley of the Shenandoah
Twelve men I chose to see the waiting land,
Where the rivers are jeweled in sunlight,
And the hills are a deep blue ocean with living spars
Of pine to catch the clouds and spread white sail.
My band, Knights of the Golden Horse Shoe,
I led upon a phantom trail
Where torrents blocked the way;
A cloud of dew came down by night, the sun was fire by day.
We followed writhing paths
Where fountains broke through stone; we drank
The crystal courage of the hills, and bowed to thank
The hand of Might that blended brawn and wonder,
And hid his handicraft behind a silver veil
That welded earth and sky.
Only the Savage knew the unmarked trail;
His ear had caught the music under ground
Made audible in water,
His eye had found the shadow-print of moss against a tree.
We stumbled on, up scarp and jagged boulder
And down the wet ravines, and up again we fought
Until one dawn we stood upon a Titan’s shoulder,
And saw—beyond the blue unchallenged hills
That bore no trace of sorrow or of wars—
The Shenandoah, DAUGHTER OF THE STARS.
—Gertrude Claytor
Marker is at the intersection of Spotswood Trail (U.S. 33) and Skyline Drive, on the right when traveling east on Spotswood Trail.
Courtesy hmdb.org
