“Winter Rainbow,” by Paul Southworth Bliss, from his book of poetry Cirrus From the West published in 1935.

Out of the oakland,

Out of the pineland,

Near the time of sunset,

I came to the un-treed plains.

On the frost-struck air

There lay two segments

Of a mighty wheel,

Sunk to the sun-hub

In the glistening prairie.

The inner ring was rose,

The middle maize,

The outer

Powder-puff green.

And the two segments

Were awesome arches

Between the snow-clad earth

And the blue zenith!

I have lived through wars,

I have lived through floods,

And storms and droughts. . .

No matter;

I have seen at last

That miracle of miracles,

The winter rainbow.

December 28, 1934

Fargo, N. D.

The phenomenon of the sundogs is relatively common; but until today I had never seen them expanded into sections of a winter rainbow. This marvel of the plains appeared at about 3:50 P.M., today, and continued for nearly fifteen minutes. I had emerged from the gloom of the oak and pine lands of Minnesota and burst onto the prairie in air that, due to the low temperature (at least zero), glittered with billions of frost particles.

Winter Rainbow Fargo, N.D. December 28, 1934