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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO, 1862-1922 by JOHN ORLEY ALLEN TATE

Poet Analysis

First Line: HE SHAKES THE DUST FROM OFF HIS FEET
Last Line: AND SKYSCRAPERS TOWER IN FAR NEW YORK.
Subject(s): AMERICAN CIVIL WAR; MURFREESBORO, BATTLE OF (1862); U.S. - HISTORY;

He shakes the dust from off his feet
And shambles down the dirty street -
The last man in the town, they said,
Who'd shot a hundred Yankees dead.

At every door he looks inside
Where pansies bloom and violets hide;
Some little boys offer him a cheer,
And only the town-dog seems to leer.

What does he seek with watery eyes?
A face or two, perhaps, or lies
That tell him Genevieve is there,
Behind the trellis, just as fair.

I cannot say he walks in vain,
Nor back of his leather-lips is pain -
Only no bottle yields its cork
And skyscrapers tower in far New York.



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