Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MEMORIAL HALL, by CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH Poet's Biography First Line: Amid the elms that interlace Last Line: In deathless glory with their names. Subject(s): Cambridge, Massachusetts | ||||||||
AMID the elms that interlace Round Harvard's grounds their branches tall, We greet no walls of statelier grace Than thine, our proud Memorial Hall. Through arching boughs and roofs of green, Whose dappled lights and shadows lie Along the turf and road, is seen Thy noble form against the sky. And miles away on fields and streams, Or where the woods the hill-tops crown, The monumental temple gleams, A landmark to each neighboring town. Nor this alone. New England knows A deeper meaning in the pride Whose stately architecture shows How Harvard's children fought and died. Therefore this hallowed pile recalls The heroes young and true and brave, Who gave their memories to these walls, Their lives to fill the soldier's grave. The farmer, as he drives his team To market in the morn, afar Beholds the golden sunrise gleam Upon thee, like a glistening star. And gazing, he remembers well Why stands yon tower so fair and tall; His sons, perhaps, in battle fell: For him, too, shines Memorial Hall. And sometimes as the student glides Along the winding Charles, and sees Across the flats thy glowing sides Above the elms and willow-trees, Upon his oar he'll turn and pause, Remembering the heroic aims Of those who linked their country's cause In deathless glory with their names. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...BOSTON YEAR by ELIZABETH ALEXANDER SONNET - REALITIES: 1 by EDWARD ESTLIN CUMMINGS IN THE CHURCHYARD AT CAMBRIDGE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW ST. JOHN'S, CAMBRIDGE; SONNET by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE BRIDGE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE HERONS OF ELMWOOD by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THREE FRIENDS OF MINE: 5; SONNET by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE SPHINX AT MOUNT AUBURN by CHARLOTTE FISKE BATES CORRESPONDENCES; HEXAMETERS AND PENTAMETERS by CHRISTOPHER PEARSE CRANCH |
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