By Steven Wade Veatch
They journeyed over rough roads
by horse, mule, and wagon
through meadows of grass freckled
with summer blossoms,
then through thick pine stands
and past toppled trees tilted at odd angles
to the gold mines.
Today, along the abandoned
roadbeds are fragments of history:
rocks fallen from ore wagons,
a blacksmith’s mule shoe,
a busted whiskey bottle,
all evidence of shattered dreams.
Through the foggy mist among the trees,
I thought I saw a spectral teamster
take his reins and smile
as his wagon jolted along a bumpy road
and disappeared into Colorado’s past.
They journeyed over rough roads
by horse, mule, and wagon
through meadows of grass freckled
with summer blossoms,
then through thick pine stands
and past toppled trees tilted at odd angles
to the gold mines.
Today, along the abandoned
roadbeds are fragments of history:
rocks fallen from ore wagons,
a blacksmith’s mule shoe,
a busted whiskey bottle,
all evidence of shattered dreams.
Through the foggy mist among the trees,
I thought I saw a spectral teamster
take his reins and smile
as his wagon jolted along a bumpy road
and disappeared into Colorado’s past.
 |
| Roadway under Castle Rock. Boulder County, Colorado. Photo date 1873 by W. H. Jackson (jwh01420). Credit: U.S.G.S. |
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