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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TO A PORTRAIT OF WHISTLER IN THE BROOKLYN ART MUSEUM, by ELEANOR ROGERS COX First Line: What waspish whim of fate Last Line: It's I or none at all! Subject(s): Brooklyn, New York | |||
What waspish whim of Fate Was this that bade you here Hold dim, unhonored state, No single courtier near? Is there, of all who pass, No choice, discerning few To poise the ribboned glass And gaze enwrapt on you? Sword-soul that from its sheath Laughed leaping to the fray, How calmly underneath Goes Brooklyn on her way! Quite heedless of that smile -- Half-devil and half-god, Your quite unequaled style, The airy heights you trod. Ah, could you from earth's breast Come back to take the air, What matter here for jest Most exquisite and rare! But since you may not come, Since silence holds you fast, Since all your quips are dumb And all your laughter past -- I give you mine instead, And something with it too That Brooklyn leaves unsaid -- The world's fine homage due. Ah, Prince, you smile again -- "My faith, the court is small!" I know, dear James -- but then It's I or none at all! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...MEDITATION ON THE BMT by PAUL BLACKBURN THE HYACINTH GARDEN IN BROOKLYN by HAYDEN CARRUTH GRAND ARMY PLAZA by KAREN SWENSON CROSSING BROOKLYN FERRY by WALT WHITMAN THE CENTENARIAN'S STORY by WALT WHITMAN MEDITATION ON THE BMT by PAUL BLACKBURN ROMARE BEARDEN RETROSPECTIVE AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM by CORNELIUS ROBERT EADY |
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