Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A CITY GARDEN, by ARTHUR GUITERMAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A CITY GARDEN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Sun-warmed, where hudson meets the sea
Last Line: My suzeraine -- the faery queen.
Subject(s): Cities; Fairies; Gardens & Gardening; New York City - Colonial Period; Urban Life; Elves


Sun-warmed, where Hudson meets the sea,
My motley-blossomed croft is sown --
A desert inn that cheers the bee
Astray amid our wastes of stone --

Where pansies raise their velvet heads,
Where lilies nod to hollyhocks
Across the sweet-alyssum beds;
And tiger-bells and four-o'clocks,

Right neighborly, together grow --
The wild and tame, the red and white;
And here I spend the hour of glow
Ere moths and bats bring in the night.

And here my chair's a ducal throne;
I rule a fief in Fairyland,
Though scarce to any serf is known
My puissant, scepter-wielding hand.

Unchecked, his subterrene abode
That Earth-gnome Worm may dig with zeal,
Nor shall I balk the Ogre Toad
Who marks him for a horrid meal!

Those gay Zingaras of the breeze,
The air-delighting Butterflies,
Have come to woo my trellised peas
That mock so well their forms and dyes.

I know yon dart of emerald light
That shakes the arbor's dewy shower!
The Humming-bird, bold errant knight,
Is tilting with the trumpet-flower!

Unthanked, unknown, aloof, benign,
By wayward whim alone controlled,
Like him that ruled in ease divine
The careless, lawless Age of Gold,

So do I hold Saturnian reign
Till one transcending day, I ween,
Shall welcome to her leal domain
My Suzeraine -- the Faery Queen.





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