"Truth at Last" by Edward R. Sill (1841 - 1887)

Does a man ever give up hope, I wonder, --
Face the grim fact, seeing it clear as day?
When Bennen saw the snow slip, heard its thunder
Low, louder, roaring round him, felt the speed
Grow swifter as the avalanche hurled downward,
Did he for just one heart throb --did he indeed
Know with all certainly, as they swept onward
There was the end, where the crag dropped away?
Or did he think, even till they plunge and fell,
Some miracle would stop them?  Nay, they tell
that he turned round, face forward, calm and pale,
Stretching his arms out toward his native vail
As if in mute, unspeakable farewell,
And so went down, --'T is something, if at last,
Though only for a flash, a man may see
Clear-eyed the future as he sees the past,
From doubt, or fear, or hope's illusion free.