Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CRIPPLE, by CARL SANDBURG



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CRIPPLE, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Once when I saw a cripple
Last Line: The clear silent processional of stars.
Subject(s): Physical Disabilities; Handicapped; Handicaps; Physically Challenged; Cripples


Once when I saw a cripple
Gasping slowly his last days with the white plague,
Looking from hollow eyes, calling for air,
Desperately gesturing with wasted hands
In the dark and dust of a house down in a slum,
I said to myself
I would rather have been a tall sunflower
Living in a country garden
Lifting a golden-brown face to the summer,
Rain-washed and dew-misted,
Mixed with the poppies and ranking hollyhocks,
And wonderingingly watching night after night
The clear silent processional of stars.




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