Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE GOOD GRAY POET, by MARGARETTE BALL DICKSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE GOOD GRAY POET, by                    
First Line: Walt whitman-'good gray poet,' as we say
Last Line: Exponent of a newer artistry.
Subject(s): Art & Artists; Poetry & Poets; Whitman, Walt (1819-1891)


Walt Whitman—"Good gray poet," as we say,
But once the friend of anarchists and those
Whose protest, most belligerent, arose—
Was thought of none too kindly in his day.
On Mickle street he lived in humble way
"A paralytic hobo," I suppose,
Conversant with the toll of human woes;
And Camden only suffered him to stay.

But now (another Homer) cities vie
To claim him as their best beloved son,
Whose name was once the butt of half their fun,
And now is held a name that can not die—
The first to leave the old, the first to be
Exponent of a newer artistry.





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