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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
RHODE ISLAND, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS Poet's Biography First Line: The state of country byways, quaintly lined Last Line: Spirit of roger williams, come again! Subject(s): Rhode Island | |||
The State of country byways, quaintly lined With bush and brake and fragrances thickset; The State of ancient villages refined: Above their streets the arching elms have met For many generations, till they seem The corridors of some long-brooding dream. Grim granite elbows through the shallow soil, The fields are fenced with gray and massive stone; The little farms will answer sturdy toil And careful thought, but answer those alone; No region this of generous-giving leas, Of ready harvesting and languid ease. Yet many berries glimmer in the wood, The wild grape hangs in many a fruited bower, The gnarled apple orchards bend with food, The waysides gleam with many a splendid flower, The hills are delicate with laurel blooms, And rhododendron lights the forest glooms. This land is loved by ocean; far and deep The long bays reach among the sloping fields, And tenderly the shining waters creep Where waiting marsh a silent welcome yields, And slow brown currents in the shadows run, And thick-ranked sedges glitter in the sun. How strangely to this realm of ancient peace The factory folk, swart faces, foreign tongue, Caught in their clattering tasks that never cease, The curse of Cain, so old, yet always young. Here, to these groping, restless, fiery men, Spirit of Roger Williams, come again! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...RHODE ISLAND by WILLIAM MEREDITH RHODE ISLAND by CHARLOTTE FISKE BATES VERAZZANO AT RHODES AND RHODE ISLAND by HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH A NEW SONG CALLED THE GASPEE by ANONYMOUS RHODE ISLAND by T. CLARKE BROWN RHODE ISLAND by WILLIAM MEREDITH MEDITATION ON RHODE ISLAND COAL by UNKNOWN KEY INTO THE LANGUAGE OF AMERICA: 1. SALUTATIONS by ROSMARIE WALDROP KEY INTO THE LANGUAGE OF AMERICA: 10. OF THE SEASON OF THE YEERE by ROSMARIE WALDROP A BATTLE SONG (WRITTEN IN THE WORLD WAR) by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS |
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