Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A GOLDEN DREAM, by KATHRYN ROESER DUNLAP



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A GOLDEN DREAM, by                    
First Line: The sun came out of the east
Last Line: And found a place in the west.
Subject(s): California - Gold Discoveries; Frontier & Pioneer Life; West (u.s.); Gold Rush; Forty-niners; Southwest; Pacific States


The sun came out of the East
And went to the West --
Fourscore years have drifted by
Since caravans struggling, steeds perspiring,
Lusty babes suckling, mothers soothing,
The Forty-Niners toiled and pushed to the West.

Through mountain crevice and rocky-peak summit,
O'er S-Path bridges that wended west
The ox carts jolted; the house goods rattled,
Women fainted, but the men pushed west;
The Indians painted and whooped on the summit,
The bluebirds startled, fluttered in distance.

The steeds pranced slower, but the men went west
O'er rocky summits, bathed violet in sunset;
The sun rose warmer as the throng pushed west.
The sun rose warmer and lasted longer,
Its rays grew mellow -- the ocean bounded,
Faint heart cheered when they found the West.

Orange-blossom fragrance, heavy on misty air,
A land o'erburdened with nature's treasure;
The skies more mellow with clouds o'erlaid;
A woman's heart and humanity's courage --
A golden dream came out of the East
And found a place in the West.





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