Ten thousand khaki tents or more, The parks' green hillsides scattered o'er, To the idealist might seem Idyllic as a shepherd's dream. As landscape gardening, they're not bad; Worse picnic places may be had; As summer camps a month or more One may endure the flapping door And drafts that sweep across the floor; The dust and odors in the clothes To tent flaps pinned in swinging rows; Wall shadows cast by careless lamps Betraying secrets to the camps: As habitations to endure They should be studied for a cure. The simple life in them pursued Proves both disquieting and crude; That which in art is picturesque, For living proves a coarse burlesque. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...FISH-LEAP FALL by ROBERT FROST THE GUARDIAN OF THE RED DISK (SPOKEN BY A CITIZEN OF MALTA - 1300) by EMMA LAZARUS DOMESDAY BOOK: THE JURY DELIBERATES by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SQUIRE BOWLING GREEN by EDGAR LEE MASTERS THE WIZARD IN WORDS by MARIANNE MOORE TO WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS ON TAGORE by MARIANNE MOORE |