Heart of New England

Name: Heart of New England
Author: Brown, Abbie Farwell

Brown, Abbie Farwell

American poetry -- 20th century

FAIRY RING                                     98
           DANGEROUS PASSING                              99
           THE DRYAD                                     101
           FAIRY WINE                                    103
           WEBS                                          104
           THE FAIRY FORT                                105
           ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
           PEACE—WITH A SWORD                            109
           THE CRY                                       112
           CRUSADERS                                     114
           THE KNIGHTS                                   115
           FROM THE CANTEEN                              117
           CRIPPLED SOLDIER                              119
           THE FLAG TRIUMPHANT                           121
           THREE GOLDEN STARS                            123
           THE SPRING OF THE YEAR                        126
           PRAYER FOR AMERICA                            128
           ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
           THE ROCK OF LIBERTY; A PILGRIM ODE. 1620–1920 131




                          HEART OF NEW ENGLAND




                               EAST WIND


    _I dream of a languorous, tideless shore,
      Of azure light in magic caves;
    Of heathery hills with summits hoar,
      That wade knee-deep in northern waves;
    Of rainbow sails like butterflies
      That flutter to an Old World quay;
    Of where a buried city lies
      Beneath the sands of Brittany._

    _Nay! But my own New England coast,
      Pungent with wild rose, pine, and bay;
    Brown marsh, white sand, gray rocks that boast
      The fiercest surf, the wildest spray!
            Ho! For me,
    Where the white, white sails go flashing to the sea;
    And the sea wind is the east wind, as the sea wind ought to be!_

    _I dream of a castle-covered height;
      Of gardens with eternal flowers,
    And mossy fountains gleaming white;
      Of lemon groves and myrtle bowers;
    Of fairy glens and haunted halls,
      Where mystery walks to and fro;
    Of palaces on gay canals;
      Of English green, and Alpenglow._

    _Nay! But New England’s apple trees,
      Her homely houses, square and plain,
    The simple gardens loved of bees,
      The maple groves, the firs of Maine!
            Ho! For me,
    Where the spring comes slowly, like a play to see;
    And the sea wind is the east wind, as the sea wind ought to be!_




                          Heart of New England
                                   ⁂




                                 NAMES


                From Somerset and Devon,
                  From Kent and Lincolnshire,
                The younger sons came sailing
                  With hearts of steel and fire.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Heart of New England

No reviews yet