Classic and Contemporary Poetry
WHITE SMOKE, by FLORA SHUFELT RIVOLA First Line: Our fathers twisted hay for fuel; their sons now twist their / lives Last Line: High dreams are dead and life will have its fire. Subject(s): Hope; Life; Parents; Optimism; Parenthood | ||||||||
Our fathers twisted hay for fuel; their sons now twist their lives; They burn them in the cook-stove of desire. What will you? Life must have its warmth,some little loaf to eat; High dreams are dead and life will have its fire. I see my mother's sunburned face, She sings life's hurt away; Laughs with her hard-born brood, who help Her twist long slough-grass hay. I see the even, scented twists Piled for the prairie night; My mother kneels there, seeking out Prayer trails the weakest might. Strong dreams are subtle things; they live On highhearts' fire-brewed fare. Can this brave day find out anew The steel and flint of prayer? O, prairie dreams of homes-to-be, What have we builded? Why? Where are the dreams that used to lift White smoke arms to the sky? Our fathers twisted hay for fuel; their sons now twist their lives; They burn them in the cook-stove of desire. What will you? Life must have its warmth,some little loaf to eat; High dreams are dead and life will have its fire. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MY PARENTS HAVE COME HOME LAUGHING by MARK JARMAN BIRTHDAY (AUTOBIOGRAPHY) by ROBINSON JEFFERS LOOKING IN AT NIGHT by MARY KINZIE THE VELVET HAND by PHYLLIS MCGINLEY CURRICULUM VITAE by LISEL MUELLER CIVILIZING THE CHILD by LISEL MUELLER MISSING THE DEAD by LISEL MUELLER A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING FOR THE SOUL OF AN ECCENTRIC MAN by FLORA SHUFELT RIVOLA |
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