I was in Broadway, A unit in a million. Like a bath In ocean surf, blown in from farthest seas Under the August ardors, the grand rush Of crested life assailed me with its waves, And cooled me while it fired. With sturdy joy I sought its broadest billows, and resigned My spirit to their surge and sway; or stood In sheltered coves, reached only by the spume And crepitant bubbles of the yesty floods, Drinking the roar, the sheen, the restlessness, As inspiration, both of sense and soul. I saw the waves of life roll up the steps Of great cathedrals and retire; and break In charioted grandeur at the feet Of marble palaces, and toss their spray Of feathered beauty through the open doors, To pile the restless foam within; and burst On crowded caravansaries, to fall In quick return; and in dark currents glide Through sinuous alleys and the grimy loops Of reeking cellars; and with softest plash Assail the gilded shrines of opulence, And slide in musical relapse away. With senses dazed and stunned, and soul o'erfilled With chaos of new thoughts, I turned away, And sought my city home. There all was calm, With wife and daughter waiting my return, And eager with their welcome. That was life!-- An interest in the great world of life, A place for toil within a world of toil, And love for its reward. "Amen!" I said, "And twice amen! I've found my life at last, And we will all be happy." Day by day-- The while I sought adjustment to the life Which I had chosen, and with careful thought Gathered to hand the fair material Elect by Fancy for the organism Over whose germ she brooded--I went out, To bathe again upon the shore of life My long-enfeebled nature.