Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF WASHINGTON, by WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER


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THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF WASHINGTON, by             Poet's Biography
First Line: Well done! The statue, on its base of granite
Last Line: Still sit supremely, and survive the storm!
Subject(s): Honor; Presidents, United States; Statues; Washington, George (1732-1799)


WELL done! The statue, on its base of granite,
Stands in the sunlight, perfect and complete,
And like a visitor from some strange planet,
Curbing his steed beside the crowded street,
A million curious eyes already scan it,
And, with delighted gaze, its advent greet.

The end has crowned the work; the high endeavor,
And the long toil, with full success are blest;
And while the city stands, henceforth, forever,
Firm as to-day this noble form shall rest,
Nor shall the hand of Time or Violence sever
Its strength and beauty from that granite crest.

It is well placed; the tide of life, incessant,
With ceaseless echoes, like the mighty voice
Of many waters, sweeps the spacious crescent,
Where, grand and calm, above the stir and noise,
A fitting type of duty ever present,
It keeps, unmoved, its graceful equipoise.

Alike through storm and sunshine; when the torrid,
Untempered rays of summer fiercely smite,
Or the first snow-flakes crown the ample forehead,
And wrap the figure in their robe of white,
Or wintry tempests, with forebodings horrid
Of distant shipwreck, fill the black midnight.

Be thus perpetual! with the consecration
Of art, and memory, and hopes that warm
With future glories for each generation,
Keep still, unchanged, the same majestic form,
And, through all tempests that may shake the nation,
Still sit supremely, and survive the storm!





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