Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A PAUPER POET, by GEORGE MURRAY (1830-1910) First Line: In a vast city's swarming street, / where crowds sweep wave-like on Last Line: In climes that oceans part! Subject(s): Begging & Beggars; Poetry & Poets; Poverty | ||||||||
In a vast city's swarming street, Where crowds sweep wave-like on, Where, if some strange, quaint sight we meet, We turn, and lo! 'tis gone; I saw a face that moved my heart, That haunts my memory yet, Its phantom never can depart, Although but once we met. I may not tell the wretchedness That glared from out its eyes; Touched by its silent, sore distress, I could not check my sighs. He passed, men muttered, and I heard His life's eventful tale What marvel if my soul was stirred That stranger to bewail? A Poet oncehis magic strains Through Italy had rung, And with wild music pierced the brains And hearts of old and young. He had sung Love, Liberty, and Light, And, by some weird control, Had troubled, as an Angel might, The waters of each soul. And now he treads the crowded street, A care-worn pauper old White-haired, ill-clad in summer's heat, Ill-clad in winter's cold. Methought, that Bard, bowed down and weak, Was like some leafless vine, Which, storm-tossed, on a hill-side bleak, And white with snow, doth pine; While the rich juice that from it ran, Like song from a Poet's heart, Cheers, warms and fires the souls of men In climes that oceans part! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WEALTH OF THE DESTITUTE by DENISE LEVERTOV EMPTY PITCHFORKS by THOMAS LUX FUNERAL SERVICE by EVE MERRIAM A SMALL COUNTRY by CLARIBEL ALEGRIA DOCUMENTAL by CLARIBEL ALEGRIA NOTES ON POVERTY by HAYDEN CARRUTH SONG OF TWO CROWS by HAYDEN CARRUTH PENCIL STUB JOURNALS: CHOICES by JOHN CIARDI AT LAST WE KILLED THE ROACHES by LUCILLE CLIFTON A BALLAD FOR CHRISTMAS-TIDE by GEORGE MURRAY (1830-1910) A DREAM ABOUT THE ASPEN by GEORGE MURRAY (1830-1910) A LEGEND OF THE CHILD JESUS; WRITTEN FOR A CHILD by GEORGE MURRAY (1830-1910) |
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