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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
CHICAGO, by JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY Poet's Biography First Line: Gaunt in the midst of the prairie Last Line: "answering her ""miserere!" Subject(s): Chicago Fire (1871) | |||
GAUNT in the midst of the prairie, She who was once so fair; Charred and rent are her garments, Heavy and dark like cerements; Silent, but round her the air Plaintively wails, "Miserere!" Proud like a beautiful maiden, Art-like from forehead to feet, Was she till pressed like a leman Close to the breast of the demon, Lusting for one so sweet, So were her shoulders laden. Friends she had, rich in her treasures: Shall the old taunt be true, -- Fallen, they turn their cold faces, Seeking new wealth-gilded places, Saying we never knew Aught of her smiles or her pleasures? Silent she stands on the prairie, Wrapped in her fire-scathed sheet: Around her, thank God, is the Nation, Weeping for her desolation, Pouring its gold at her feet, Answering her "Miserere!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHICAGO [OCTOBER 8-10, 1871] by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER TWO CITIES by WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER THE LOVE SONNETS OF PROTEUS: 55. ST. VALENTINE'S DAY by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT LIFE by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE WAR IS KIND: 12 by STEPHEN CRANE THE POET AND THE BABY by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR MISS KILMANSEGG AND HER PRECIOUS LEG: HER DEATH by THOMAS HOOD AFTER THE BURIAL by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE PEN by GHALIB IBN RIBAH AL-HAJJAM |
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