Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ENGLAND AND AMERICA: 1. ON A RHINE STEAMER, by JAMES KENNETH STEPHEN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ENGLAND AND AMERICA: 1. ON A RHINE STEAMER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Republic of the west, / enlightened, free, sublime
Last Line: That people ought to be.
Alternate Author Name(s): Stephen, J. K.
Subject(s): Hate


Republic of the West,
Enlightened, free, sublime,
Unquestionable best
Production of our time.

The telephone is thine,
And thine the Pullman Car,
The caucus, the divine
Intense electric star.

To thee we likewise owe
The venerable names
Of Edgar Allan Poe,
And Mr Henry James.

In short it's due to thee,
Thou kind of Western star,
That we have come to be
Precisely what we are.

But every now and then,
It cannot be denied,
You breed a kind of men
Who are not dignified,

Or courteous or refined,
Benevolent or wise,
Or gifted with a mind
Beyond the common size,

Or notable for tact,
Agreeable to me,
Or anything, in fact,
That people ought to be.





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