MAGNIFICENT, too, is the system of drains, Exceeding the far-spoken wonders of old: So lengthen'd and vast in its branches and chains, That labyrinths pass like a tale that is told: The sewers gigantic, like multiplied veins, Beneath the whole city their windings unfold, Disgorging the source of plagues, scourges, and pains, Which visit those cities to cleanliness cold. Well did the ancient proverb lay down this important text, That cleanliness for human weal to godliness is next. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: THE UNKNOWN by EDGAR LEE MASTERS DEDICATION IN THESE DAY by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE SMALLISH SON by HAYDEN CARRUTH IN EQUAL SACRIFICE by ROBERT FROST ON THE INFLATION OF THE CURRENCY, 1919 by ROBERT FROST AUTUMN by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON PRAYER AT SUNRISE by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON |