Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


SOUNDS OF THE CITY by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE

First Line: FROM WHERE I SIT THE CITY'S CEASELESS ROAR
Last Line: WHOSE EVERY HOUR A TRAGEDY REVEALS.
Subject(s): CITIES; FIGHTS; LABOR & LABORERS; URBAN LIFE; WORK; WORKERS;

FROM where I sit the city's ceaseless roar
Surges in tides around my casement sash,
The sea of sound heaves now a sudden crash
And now a tremble from a distant shore;
Soft rumbles sweep my window-railing o'er,
The muffled booms come in with softened plash,
The whistles pierce the panes as though a flash
Of lightning had cut through my dwelling's core.
Strange messages this restless ocean bears;
I catch the blows of labor, — whir of wheels,
The sob of grief, the ceaseless sigh of cares,
The shouts of far applause, the mighty peals
Of human battle on the thoroughfares,
Whose every hour a tragedy reveals.



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