THE GOLDEN WHALES OF CALIFORNIA AND OTHER RHYMES IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE LIST OF THE BOOKS OF VACHEL LINDSAY _Prose_: A Handy Guide for Beggars Adventures While Preaching the Gospel of Beauty The Art of the Moving Picture _Verse_: General William Booth Enters into Heaven and Other Poems The Congo and Other Poems The Chinese Nightingale and Other Poems The Golden Whales of California and Other Rhymes in the American Language It is suggested that those who are interested in a complete view of these works should take them in the above order. They are all published by The Macmillan Company. THE GOLDEN WHALES OF CALIFORNIA AND OTHER RHYMES IN THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE BY VACHEL LINDSAY New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1920 _All rights reserved_ COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electrotyped. Published January, 1920. THIS BOOK IS INSCRIBED TO ISADORA BENNETT, CITIZEN OF SPRINGFIELD, because she helped me to write many of the pieces, from the Golden Whales of California to Alexander Campbell, and because she danced the Daniel Jazz. For permission to reprint some of the verses in this volume the author is indebted to the courtesy of the editors and publishers of _The Chicago Daily News_, _Poetry_ (Chicago), _Contemporary Verse_, _The New Republic_, _The Forum_, Books and the Book World of the _New York Sun_, _Others_, _The Red Cross Magazine_, _Youth_, _The Independent_, and William Stanley Braithwaite’s anthology entitled “Victory.” TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE A WORD ON CALIFORNIA, PHOTOPLAYS, AND SAINT FRANCIS xiii FIRST SECTION THE LONGER PIECES, WITH INTERLUDES THE GOLDEN WHALES OF CALIFORNIA 3 KALAMAZOO 11 JOHN L. SULLIVAN, THE STRONG BOY OF BOSTON 14 BRYAN, BRYAN, BRYAN, BRYAN 18 RAMESES II 31 MOSES 32 A RHYME FOR ALL ZIONISTS 33 A MEDITATION ON THE SUN 38 DANTE 42 THE COMET OF PROPHECY 43 SHANTUNG, OR THE EMPIRE OF CHINA IS CRUMBLING DOWN 46 THE LAST SONG OF LUCIFER 59 SECOND SECTION A RHYMED SCENARIO, SOME POEM GAMES, AND THE LIKE