£ ^, M Wf, \ IJil^^ I M ■4 ■4 Rook ,A t73M 5 GoKTightN°___lAJ_2_ Ci)HfRIGHT DEPOSm % alk^L^--=aillife=--:: ^SKf^ ' ,-r^BI^5:-- r<^ll^ m-- -^ ^' THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN And Other Poems The Might of Manhattan And Other Poems "^ By JOSEPH D. McMANUS CHARLES FRANCIS PRESS Printing Crafts Building New York Copyright, 1919 By JOSEPH D. McMANUS U559108 DEC 20 1919 a CONTENTS *^ PAGE s? The Might of Manhattan 1 1 tjti The Call of the Country 35 Katy East And Katy West 37 In Metarie Cemetery 41 Approaching Honolulu 43 War's Harvest 45 Mob 47 True Expression 50 By the Grave of Poe 51 The Dream-Siren 53 The Muse in Misfortune 56 The Regular Soldier 57 The Lowest Rank 60 Fleeting Thought 61 Vernal Morn and Eve 62 Valentine's Day 63 Lines to a Young Lady 64 In Life's Autumn 65 Loneliness 65 The Libertine's Lament 66 Two Prayers 67 m .^ a ^ p i R "^^ZT" "^ ^ ^ ^ ^ M 1 S ^^ ^^3 ^^^^ THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN H ow MIGHTY is the forest oak whose span Broad centuries of steady growth uprear! But mightier are the towering works of man Wrought in the narrow compass of a year, And mightiest on Manhattan they appear To grace this wonder isle, — this throbbing mart, — Which drains the pulses of a hemisphere To claim the best that Wealth and Skill impart And lift a lofty skyline, radiant with Art. 12 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN II A diadem by day, a great glow-worm At night, encanopies the hives of trade, Where Mammon's lure, deep, sentiment and firm, Holds myriad minions fretful and afraid Lest they be gripped so tightly, all plans laid For winning or for gaining fall to ground; Yet, over all, the spirit that has made Manhattan's grit and greatness world-renowned Shines in that superb skyline where success is crowned. Ill Huge panoramic signboard where, behold! Proud Progress paints her own advertisement; Can Commerce cast herself in statelier mold Or Business build a worthier monument? The practical and artistic here are blent In harmony: Colossal towers and domes Are silhouetted in the firmament With splendours that were once Imperial Rome's Chief boast, in public pomp and luxury of homes. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 13 IV Mount, mimic miniature Alps! in serried files Of many-storied structures reared in pride, Within a radius of a dozen miles Here half-a-dozen million souls reside, — A medley of all nations unified In mutual uplift to participate: Consider what this ever-rising tide Of compact human energy will create For generations, yet unborn, to contemplate. V Charmed crucible! wherein constructive force Enfetters those twin-tyrants, Time and Space, With marvels of invention and resource That comfort and convenience find a place: Unrivalled is Manhattan in the race For world supremacy; can fate withstand Intensive Industry's prodigious pace Which Destiny and Duty both demand, — The hope of humankind when armaments disband. 14 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN VI But if earth's potentates In league with Mars Ordain that all millennium efforts cease, That Science seek her laurel wreaths in wars, That arms are indispensable to peace. Then let the nation's armaments increase And multiply the arsenals and forts To be prepared for challenge or caprice Of foreign foes that plan with trained cohorts To levy tribute on the richest of seaports. VII The ideal state is where the people's voice Is heard and heeded for the common weal, Not where conscripted troops, the despot's choice. Implant subservience with an iron heel. From whose oppression there is no appeal; To rule by right divine is feudal creed Founded on myth, by monarchs urged with zeal To thwart the hopes for equal rights that feed On fruits of Liberty and Learning's mingled seed. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 15 VIII More threatening than the absolute control A czar once wielded is the power that craves Allegiance to a fancied super-soul, — Benevolent autocracy, — that paves A pensioned pathway for contented slaves Whose sacrifice of individual rights To guardians, from their cradles to their graves, Indulges worldly wants and appetites. But dulls the flame of life which Freedom's torch ignites. IX Nowhere evince the tillers of the soil More taste or fitness for enlightenment. Nowhere are clasped the grimy hands of toil For labor's liberation more intent Or purposeful than on this continent, Where in its culminating strength and scope Manhattan offers proof most eloquent That men and principles may safely cope With problems each evolve, — Democracy's proud hope. 16 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN X But looking backward in reflective mood Across the centuries that intervene Since Peter Minuit, the trader, stood With Indians near the site of Bowling Green Negotiating with complacent mien A four-and-twenty dollar rum outlay For title to Manhattan's sylvan scene; How changed the times and customs since that day Or since the stern and sturdy Stuyvesant held sway! XI To understand Manhattan and to catch The deeper meaning of the force that nerved Successive generations to outmatch Foregoing efforts, — as with wings uncurved For poise or perchment. Progress soars un- swerved To altitudes of grandeur unconfined, From various vantage-points should be ob- served The crowning civic conquests of mankind That flash their natural pulsing films upon the mind. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 17 XII Viewed from the harbor on a summer's day By travelers aboard incoming ships, The scene evokes emotions into play, Starts admiration leaping to the lips And pleasure tingling to the finger-tips; Oh ! how the native bosom swells with pride, No seaport spectacle can this eclipse. Nerve-center of a nation at flood-tide With Liberty's enlightening torch aloft to guide. XIII Seen from the summit of the tallest tower. Almost a thousand feet above the street, The great metropolis reveals its power In magnitude and majesty complete, And distant objects seem beneath the feet; Vision extends for forty miles around. Scan the horizon's circle, what a treat? Look inland classic Princeton is found, Eastward, thro' ocean mists speed steamers home- ward bound. 18 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XIV Off Sandy Hook the Atlantic's crest of blue Dim-outlined dwindles to a shore-line gray, Dwarfed in the focus of a bird's eye view, The Narrows, Ambrose Channel and the bay, Unfold a mighty maritime array. Where flags of every nation flout the gale, Big bristling battleships at anchor lay. While fleets of ferryboats jammed to the rail Flit to and fro 'mid countless craft that steam or sail. XV There stands upon the harbor-front seawall An ancient fort that bears the Aquarium's name, Perhaps the most historic spot of all The noted many that this isle can claim. As Castle Garden it acquired its fame. For dating back to eighteen-fifty-five Eight million aliens through its portals came To labor, learn to assimilate and strive To help this great Republic prosper and survive. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 19 XVI These migrant millions lured from various climes And meeting, mingling, intermarrying here, Left deep and forceful impress on the times Since then till now, and many a future year Their progeny as leaders will appear To lift Advancement's banner for this realm, Equipped to serve in any rank or sphere; No tempest shall the ship of state o'erwhelm When pilots, sons of pioneers, are at the helm. XVII Old former Castle Garden! landmark set With memories that a century invest; Here on his farewell visit Lafayette Was welcomed as the nation's honored guest; Here landed Edward, Prince of Wales, in quest Of youth's diversions; here Inventor Morse Scored triumph in his telegraphic test; Here Barnum's fame as showman had its source. And hither Kossuth steered from Hungary his course. 20 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XVIII Thronging the island's center, north and south, Throughout Manhattan's length of thirteen miles, From Battery Park which flanks the Hudson's mouth To where the broad Van Courtlandt meadow smiles, Runs Broadway, famed for spenders, shows and styles, Magnetic and mirage-like, masking care. While underneath the glamour, froth and wiles, Flow channelled depths that human currents wear Which vitalize the world's most vaunted thorough- fare. XIX The modern network of Industrialism Evolves a mode of living keen and tense. Keyed by a highly-complex mechanism That interlocks for Capital's defence. Curtailing incomes, adding to expense Of toiling masses who for living wage Serve sinews to famed fortunes so immense, Their philanthropic owners must engage Endowment experts to divert them in old age. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 21 XX There's something nobler, infinitely higher, In passing through the solemn vale of life Than mere unchecked ambition to acquire Pelf with its paltry pastime, sordid strife ; Where greed for gold is rampant, graft is rife; Better an honest heart, a cultured taste, A love of home, of offspring and of wife, With income that inhibits want or waste Than all the wiles on which plutocracy is based. XXI The people's peerless playground, Central Park, Whose charms appeal to every age and class, Has not escaped the grim despoiler's mark; The Arsenal is closed, and gone, alas! The sportsman's tavern at McGowan's Pass, The Belvedere obtrudes its ruined heap. The old stone fort is overgrown with grass; But fading landmarks frowning in dull sleep O'er livelier landscape scenes forwarning vigils keep. 22 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XXII From teeming Eastside tenements that group Their human herds like cattle in a stall, On holidays pic-nicking parents troop With romping children to the water-fall Or harken to the music on the Mall, Eluding for the nonce their chief concern, — The economic fetters that enthrall, — To draw direct from nature's healthful urn The balm of rural life for which their spirits yearn. XXIII Midway in Central Park where echoes sound Faint murmurs of the turmoil life demands For sustenance, erected on a mound With cryptic message carved by ancient hands. An obelisk that rose above the sands Of Egypt ere the Christian era's start Was chronicled, in lordliness now stands Like some mysterious sentinel apart Behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 23 XXIV Stern symbol of endurance ! Mystics preach In vain thy sermon but cannot obscure Thy purpose, for thy presence serves to teach That Art, like Time, is destined to endure : Ere Culture's dawn thou wert Art's overture And all the aesthetic harmonies combined That stately sumptuous sanctuaries insure With treasured trophies of each master-mind Are Civilization's grandest gifts to all mankind. XXV What is the secret of the power that gives A faculty to fame that fascinates In cherished classic which through ages lives? 'Tis toil that tills the talent that creates While sloth in vain on inspiration waits, And Genius, so distinctive and oft fraught With tastes aesthetic and eccentric traits, — So loathed by mediocrity, — is naught But mental vision's range expanded by trained thought. 24 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XXVI The ancient Greeks who gave to law a status And lauded justice in their classic odes Revered a fabled hero, Fortunatus, Whose smiles were more engaging than the codes That Solon taught in forum-famed abodes: But in Manhattan luck's an unchased bubble, And law seems distant as the antipodes From honor, while the art of dealing-double Is substituted for success in masking trouble. XXVII There are some natures crude, conceited, coarse. With instincts of the wolf and fox endowed, That elbow and hobnail their way by force To places in the forefront of the crowd. Preempting posts beyond their fitness, proud To meet all public protests with a sneer Or hold the mob in mood resentful cowed; Thus roved and ruled the old-time buccaneer Whose modern chrysalis yields a gouging profiteer. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 25 XXVIII Symptoms of blight, — the problem paramount, — Defenders of Democracy must face. Lurk in the heedless tendency to count Position, power, preferment, public place, Attained by standards false and methods base. As laudable : Why is this noxious scourge. Which goads the conscience of the human race, Licensed to flout all moral codes and urge What Justice, blinded, gropes in vain to probe and purge ? XXIX Unless the civic conscience be aroused To worthier impulse than material gain. The cause our patriot forefathers espoused For freedom and equality will wane; As long as special privilege is the bane Of social justice, laws will lure mischance. While honest worth with intrigue vies in vain; Not Force, but Faith in ideals, must advance To breast the bulwarks reared by brigands of finance. 26 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XXX Motoring In modish juggernaut array, The gilded god of chance through Wall street drives To haunts where hordes of human birds of prey Revel in riches reaped on ruined lives; In money's maddening maelstrom Conscience strives To merge what moral precepts have instilled, But Verity, not Vanity, survives, And soon would earth with famine's phantoms filled To primal types revert unless the soil be tilled. XXXI For in the elemental warp that yields Forces that forge the militant right arm And moral fibre Civilization wields To compass life with cheerfulness and charm, The font and firm foundation is the farm; Ancient and stable as the human race Is Agriculture, and though myriads swarm Manhattan's marts in Mammon's ceaseless chase Their providence is meted by the ploughman's pace. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 27 XXXII Out of stupendous strife there often dawns This sober thought which chastened mood pre- sents : Mortals, however masterful, are pawns Upon the changing chessboard of events; The courtly sculptor. Vanity, cements Heroic names upon the scroll of Time, But Fame is seldom cradled by intents, And often those discouraged in their prime Have soared through opportune events to heights sublime. XXXIII Goddess that guards the temple reared to sports With bow and arrow ready for the chase. Dashing Diana, naked-limbed, cavorts Atop a tower of architectural grace; Old Madison Square Garden is the place To witness games, Olympic-like, that still Attract all classes of the populace Who mingle and acclaim with shouts that thrill Triumphant victors in the feats of strength and skill. 28 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XXXIV Where styles of modern architecture share With quaint colonial types the passing view Keen is the human instinct to compare Details of difference in the old and new; The Jumel Mansion, foremost of the few Preserved ancestrial homesteads, still abounds In interest as the patriots' rendezvous, While 'neath its rocky perch tumultuous sounds Oft echo from the stadium of the Polo Grounds. XXXV Within the shadow cast by Coogan's bluff The captivating contest of baseball Elicits roars in volume vast enough The muttering of Niagara to recall On rainless afternoons from Spring till Fall, When hosts hilarious gather to exhort The keenest, cleanest pastime of them all. As rival teams to strategy resort In matching speed and skill, — the Spartan test of sport. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 29 XXXVI Presumptuous youth would fain adventure far Through ultra-urban life without a hitch, But like the unskilled pilot of a car, The simple thoughtless turning of a switch May shift him from the highway to the ditch; Conceit has cankered many a proud career That might have earned admission to a niche In halls of fame, if temperament's high-gear Had been inured from early youth to wisdom's steer. XXXVII Turf, set apart by nature's grace to yield Relief or respite from dull routine cares, May once have been a public Potter's Field, Like Bryant Park whose origin compares With those of Madison or Union squares; Each in its turn received the pauper dead, Each groomed its lawns, its shade-trees and parterres O'er humblest graves as progress northward spread. And now they harbor human helplessness instead. 30 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XXXVIII Ye who, misled by demagogue's design Or fired by proletarian's frenzied plea, Have faith in cults that seek to undermine The spirit that upholds democracy ; Ye who regard republics as the free Exploiting grounds for foreigners to plant Seditious seed; ye who claim liberty Neglects her heroes cast in adamant. That noble deeds inspire, approach the Tomb of Grant. XXXIX High o'er the Hudson where the steep incline Of parked embankment fronts a terraced drive, Stroll leisurely like pilgrim to his shrine And feel the patriotic pulse revive, — The embered zeal of manhood flame alive, — As through embowering vistas the first peep Of that huge semblance of a granite hive Delights the eye with its impressive heap Where rests the warrior with his spouse in hal- lowed sleep. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 31 XL Protagonist of military might! Whose statue with the flight of time expands, Firm as the rock and lofty as the site Whereon thy mammoth mausoleum stands; The Union cause triumphant in thy hands Immortalized thee, but that mute appeal. Voiced from the tomb, e'en greater praise com- mands. For those calm words **Let us Have Peace" reveal Thy power to smite was tempered with the hope to heal. XLI Observe the gorge-like prospect from this tomb The Hudson shapes till dim perspective fades To northward where the shores of Jersey loom With uniform abruptness which pervades The panorama of the Palisades, Grouping in picturesque and pristine grace Across from sylvan Inwood's sloping glades In uppermost Manhattan, every trace Of rugged nature's charm which man should not deface. 32 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XLII How trim the water-tower peaked on a ridge The eastern Heights of Washington disclose ! And 'neath the granite arches of High Bridge How placidly the Harlem river flows 'Mid scenes of semi-pastoral repose! Across the stream the Bronx, suburban tame, Despite the inroads trade's aggression sows, Exalts from classic heights life's lofty aim In dome and colonnade that mark the Hall of Fame. XLIII Is Freedom's dawn forgotten? Look around In quest of civic tendency or aim, Objects and scenes on every side abound That bear the Father of our country's name. Communal tributes to enduring fame. More potent than the pomp the proud affect. True worth unfurls no tinselled oriflame; For chivalry of character can elect To vest the commonplace with title to respect. THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN 33 XLIV How oft the noble name of Washington Pervades Manhattan's unromantic air! An arch with sage monition carved thereon, Facing an entrance to a public square, A statue in the heart of Wall street's lair, A mart, a fort, a bridge, a rocky height. An ancient and a modern thoroughfare, Are notable memorials to the might Of him who shaped and launched our ship of state aright. XLV Go, guard the gates of government and guide The drifting herds from Europe off the shoal Where breaks the surging socialistic tide Which frets and froths to leap beyond control i No fatuous foreign beacon lights the goal Or charts the course democracy declares, And, lest the watchful wraith of serfdom's soul Through rifts unwardened creep in unawares, Uproot ecclesiasticism from state affairs. 34 THE MIGHT OF MANHATTAN XLVI Speed on, Manhattan, while the virile lust And vibrant lure of youth sustain thy force ! The dregs of empires filtered through the dust Of ages long elapsed, still meet and course Through thy brisk veins incognizant of source: Rejuvenate the remnants merged in one And fused at Freedom^s forge beyond divorce. As Babel's leaven moulded Babylon, Mint thou thy might from every race beneath the sun. THE CALL OF THE COUNTRY 35 THE CALL OF THE COUNTRY 'T^HERE are times when a sense of satiety palls -■' And the glamour of city life no longer thralls, Then the spirit of man seeks the woodlands and fields For the comforting calm that the countryside yields. For the woes that depress and the wrongs that aggrieve The freedom of forest and farm can relieve, And the Ills of illusion, engendered by care, Dissolve like the mists In the fresh mountain air. The slave to convention whose passion for wealth Is rewarded by premature age and ill-health Finds something akin to revival of youth In rustic environment, however uncouth. A springtide aroma of fresh-furrowed turf, A mid-summer breath of the rough-rolling surf, A landscape which autumn in pigments portrays, — These are worth all the joys of a dozen Broad- ways. 36 THE CALL OF THE COUNTRY The lonesomest lives may be compassed by mirth In the busiest streets that enliven the earth, Where the heart of the city's cross-currents com- pound With a bedlam of bustle and babel of sound. Afloat for a lifetime are mortals that sweep O'er the boundless expanse of the billowy deep, While dotting earth's wild wastes with cottage or camp Are primitive souls of the pioneer stamp. Like the old Texas rancher who gruffly avowed He would rather move off than be cramped by a crowd And who felt that his range was too narrow to roam When settlers located ten miles from his home. KATY EAST AND KATY WEST 37 KATY EAST AND KATY WEST I ^T^IME has wrought so many changes In the life I used to know When I rode the cattle ranges Down in Texas years ago That there scarce remains a semblance Of the type of folks I knew, Only just a faint remembrance Of a fond and faithful few, — One of whom a grim old fellow That no josh or joke could vex. Whose complexion coppered mellow Showed his origin, Tex-Mex, Seldom spoke above a mutter, Till by dint of duty pressed, He would lift his tongue and utter: '*Katy East and Katy West." 38 KATY EAST AND KATY WEST II It so happened down In Waco, Which the Katy road runs through, That a lone paved street would echo With a merry motley crew Of quaint cattlemen and tourists, Bound for points along the line, — Even constables and jurists Seldom missed a treat so fine, — When two roaring trains would smother Every voice with deafening power As they paused to pass each other Round about the noon-day hour; It was just before their coming That our hero yelled with zest In a tone that set hearts humming: ''Katy East and Katy West." Ill Though his nose was hooked like Caesar's, He had not the Romanes brains, For his youth was spent with greasers Herding cattle on the plains. Still he tossed a skillful lasso, As he drifted back and forth KATY EAST AND KATY WEST 39 With cow-punchers from El Paso And the stockyards at Fort Worth, Till with age his speed was slacking, Then without much fret or fuss, He just settled down to hacking With two ponies and a bus As a mode of transportation. But the part he played the best Was to shout this information: *'Katy East and Katy West/' IV Most of Waco's nabobs nobby Were the gamblers that would stroll Proud as peacocks through the lobby Of the Hotel Metropole; Rough and raw-boned ranchers mingled, Always keen to take a chance. While their bell-spurs clinked and jingled Mimic echoes of the dance; But the bar-room's roar and rattle Caught the cowboy's fancy first, Romping, milling like their cattle In attempts to slack their thirst; Yet a sudden lull oft sundered All the mirth that effervesced 40 KATY EAST AND KATY WEST When the old bus-driver thundered: "Katy East and Katy West." Oft I marked his noon-day entry, From the hotel dining-room, Saw him stalk in like a sentry. Bold enough to challenge doom. With his broad sombrero flopping From a tether held in check And a loose bandana dropping In a loop around his neck; Girt and geared with all the trappings Of a prairie pioneer. Whip in hand with thonged enwrappings, Straight ahead his course would steer, Pound the floor with ponderous brogan. Hustling every dining guest, With his timely, trusty slogan: "Katy East and Katy West." VI From amongst the fearless figures That I loped with on the ranch. Some were quick at cards and triggers, Nearly all were straight and stanch. IN METARIE CEMETERY 41 But the firmest fixed survivor That In retrospect remains Is that old Waco bus-driver And the way he called the trains; For a moral we can summon From his long-remembered yell Is that things which seem uncommon Oft are common things done well; And this thought like music beating On the heart-strings in my breast Keeps my memory still repeating: "Katy East and Katy West." IN METARIE CEMETERY THERE Is In New Orleans a cemetery That seems the handiwork of nymph or fairy, Named Metarle, which old chronicles report Was once a race-course where unbridled sport Held carnival until, piqued by a snub That barred his entry to the jockey club, A local wag, for wealth and wit renowned, Transformed the track Into a burylng-ground; And with a sportsman's sense of pride and pity Bequeathed his curious conquest to the city. 42 IN METARIE CEMETERY This act so pleased the public that the donor Was feted, toasted and acclaimed with honor By press and pulpit as the people's friend, Because he had the courage to defend The principle of equal human rights, — That law of natural instinct which unites Men in true fellowhood, — for he had turned Into grim jest the boast of foes that spurned His comradeship, till death invoked surrender; Then Metarie grouped within her bosom tender Both friend and foe around her old defender. Whose tomb surpasseth all in marbled splendor. APPROACHING HONOLULU 43 APPROACHING HONOLULU I SERENITY sails On a tropical trip, Lazily lolling aboard a snug ship, Which ploughs the Pacific's immutable breast, Six days out of Golden Gate heading southwest, When a shout stirs the crew, brisk officers pass, A lookout is posted aloft with a glass, Keen eyes peer ahead with expectant delight, For the isles of Hawaii will soon be in sight. II No land has been seen since a group of gray stones Just outside the headlands, — the bleached Farra- lones, — Like a stray shoal of sea-wolves inclined to pursue, In the dusk of an evening receded from view, And almost a week has elapsed, still the calm Of the ambient elements basks in their balm, While only the depths of the ocean and sky Envisage their vastness to soul and to eye. Ill The encircling scope and the murmuring sound Of the sea evoke thoughts and emotions profound In minds that can rise o'er the sordid and base To ponder life's purport in nature's embrace; 44 APPROACHING HONOLULU Yet oft through such musings a magic-like hand, Repeating its kerchiefed farewell from the land, Creeps in, with a lingering longing once more To set a firm foot on a welcoming shore. IV There's a zest in the shift from reflections sedate To the tremor which hope's expectations create, When all that is sober and solemn and deep Veer to smiles as in dreams of a child fast asleep; There's a thrill in the long watchful wait to divert The tedium and tension of being alert, And just as the quest seems enshrouded in doubt, "Land ahead! off the starboard bow," shouts the lookout. Far out where the blue of the sky seems to sleep On the crest of the mingling blue of the deep, The sunny bright isles in the distant waves gleam Like fragments of fancy pervading a dream: Thus oft on the variable voyage through life With its alternate aspects of sunshine and strife. The goals that persistence and patience pursue Like the isles of Hawaii at last loom in view. WAR'S HARVEST 45 WAR'S HARVEST I To HASTEN the ultimate uplift of man, — This was the heralded purpose and plan When war of the Nations In Europe began, But now that the conflict Is ended, Have all the lessons the grim struggle taught Lifted a burden from millions who fought. Brightened a hope for the ideals they sought, Or have more been shattered than mended? II What if a warlord whose swaggering style Once bluffed the world with a frown or a smile Now tames his pulse chopping wood in exile ! What of a Czar's immolation ! Are not the countries these proud monarchs ruled Drifting to chaos; by Bolshevists schooled, Are not the peoples long forced, fleeced and fooled, Now on the verge of starvation? Ill Here in a plenteous prosperous land Prices are raised by a profiteer band, 46 WAR'S HARVEST Not by the law of supply and demand, Plain patient folks are disgusted; Still on a mistaken course we proceed, Glutting the maws of insatiable greed, Someday the victims will rise and stampede, Then will the Trust-bunds be busted. IV Wherever we go they are passing the hat With a drive for this and a drive for that. As legions of loiterers loaf and grow fat, — Their insolence fairly staggers; Unless the contagion of this gnawing fault Is checked by the law Interposing a halt Which forces these leeches to earn their own salt, We'll soon be a nation of beggars. V The orgy of organized greed that Incites An age economic to curb human rights. Which Labor contends for and Capital fights, The world war but slightly affected; With wealth glossing evils it never can cure. With the rich growing richer and poorer the poor. How long can the might of a nation endure? How long will its laws be respected? MOB 47 MOB o mightier despot ever trod The earth or ruled with sterner rod Or swayed huge hosts with subtler nod Or rode through ruin rougher shod Than I, — part beast, part demi-god. N Horrors that make humanity tremble Stalk in my wake when I assemble The Imps of discord and unrest Which lurk In every outraged breast, And seem to mock like haunting ghouls The grief and gloom of shackled souls, Or sportive turn the cog which grinds Envenomed thoughts in envious minds, Or gleeful dance with fiendish zest On hearts by want and woe oppressed, Or ruthless rack the nerves with dread When eyes are filmed a murderous red From ills that through gaunt bodies spread, Long overworked and underfed. 48 MOB Terror and Thrill, Tremor and Throb March in my van with Shudder and Sob, Mine is a tragic Titan's job, I am the turbulent Tyrant Mob. My coming serves to set in motion A frenzied ferment of devotion To every cause and cult and notion Designed by knave or demagogue To steep the public mind in fog And mire all Christendom a-bog. Discarding e'en the decalogue: It is indeed unfortunate Impostors so importunate, Who lack the power and skill to make The fortunes others have at stake. Preach violence for vengeance sake, Can fortify their tongues and nerves By poaching on my wild preserves. Can coyly courtesan with fame By spurious trading on my name. Unlike my servile offspring. Mars, I am not throned amid the stars, I am not ranked with brave hussars, Nor pensioned for my wounds and scars; MOB 49 Nor Is my form in glory clothed, My fate by no allegiance oathed, I am a demon feared and loathed By all, — an outcast behemothed: Yet for the good of all I rise; The foremost attributes I prize Are patience born of sacrifice And justice shrieking to the skies For what oppression oft denies In human rights and sympathies; For these my reign, though sharp and brief. Extends a rainbow of relief Across a horror-riven reef Where breaks an avalanche of grief, A cataclysm of emotion Which sweeps mankind like storm-tossed ocean. Ye, who are wont to wreck and rob, Snugged in the role of sleek nabob, Who snare and swindle honest folk. Who jeer at justice as a joke, Who gloat to see your victims broke Beneath the dull industrial yoke, While orphans wail and widows sob. Beware the righteous wrath of Mob. 50 TRUE EXPRESSION TRUE EXPRESSION ly^NOW YE that true expression lies •■■^ Less in the tongue than in the eyes, For eloquent as may appear The fluent lip, a smile or tear Can quicken joy, can banish fear Or make the pulse with pleasure start Or soothe with sympathy the heart, Eclipsing Oratory's art; For Gladness melts what Grief absorbs Beneath the glance of smiling orbs. These mute interpreters of Love Reflect what lips can seldom breathe. As stars that faintly beam above Are glistened in the wave beneath. BY THE GRAVE OF POE 51 BY THE GRAVE OF POE BESIDE Westminster's stately towers,* Where reverent footsteps softly tread, A churchyard lies, uncheered by flowers, But honored by th' Immortal dead. I visited that hallowed spot In autumn many years ago. The scene will never be forgot. Whose gloom was like impending woe. 'Twas midnight and in varying tones The belfries tolled the dismal hour, I glanced upon sepulchral stones And seemed to feel enchantment's power. A splendid marble shaft arose Above a corner of the lot Thro shrubbery which lent repose To elegance that deckt the spot. *Poe is bnried in Westminster churchyard in the heart of the city of Baltimore, Md. 52 BY THE GRAVE OF POE I knelt before the sepulchre Which hides th' immortal poet's dust And like a pilgrim-worshiper Paid tribute to his classic bust. No echoing sounds the stillness broke Save from above the sculptured door Methought I heard the Raven croak His solitary "Nevermore." The gathering gloom gripped like a trance, And when I passed the iron gate I paused but dared not backward glance As if pursued by fear or fate. THE DREAM-SIREN 53 THE DREAM-SIREN IN DREAMS of yesternight I stood Upon the ocean's darkHng shore While all around was solitude Save for the waves' inconstant roar. Before me rose a maiden sad With sapphire eyes, half-sheathed in sleep, A white transparent texture clad This Amphitrite of the deep. She spake in stately solemn tone: ''Mine is the power that conquers want; Speak quickly ere the night is flown, Whate'er you wish for I shall grant." One moment mute enrapt I gazed Upon her half-averted face. As wild caressing billows praised Her statuesque and nymphal grace. 54 THE DREAM-SIREN Her long loose-flowing tresses flung Their golden festoons to the storm, When harkening to my suppliant tongue That gently roused her slumbrous form. **I would my heart were like the wave That bounds exulting o'er the sea, And when the scowling tempests rave I still could frolic gay and free. "I would my mind were like the lake That mirrors peace at eventide, Unrufiled by the winds that shake The rustling woodland by its side. "I would my soul were like the vault Of boundless heaven's ethereal blue. Untarnished by a clouded fault And to its Source unswerving true. "I would my love were like the rose That blooms in unfrequented fields. Where only the wooing zephyr knows The favorite fragrance that it yields. THE DREAM-SIREN 55 "I would the wealth of all the earth Were cast returnless to the wind, And the nobler standard of true worth Were culture of the heart and mind. *'Yea ! dearer to me than tempting wealth Than grandeur's pomp or pleasure's lure Is long-robust, unfailing health, A faithful heart, a conscience pure." I paused. The mermaid's lifted arms. Commanding while they captivate, Though still revealing myriad charms. Were now impotent, — 'twas too late. Her shadowy form began to fade. Her lips seemed motioning to reply; Methought I heard the sounds they made. But 'twas the ocean's surging sigh. A startled wakening from my sleep Dissolved the phantom, slumber-born. While through my window came the peep Of twilight ushering in the morn. 56 THE MUSE IN MISFORTUNE THE MUSE IN MISFORTUNE How strange ! the humblest peasant thrives, While languish gifted men of song, And seldom calm, Arcadian lives Are lotted to the minstrel throng. Betimes, perchance, oppressed by want. Their harps have sounded half-unstrung; Rebuke not ! think how they might chant If fortune favored what was sung. Their lots should not, howe'er they live. Provoke a prudish look or laugh; Their hearts when song-enburdened give What other hearts will phonograph. Unqualified for deeds that bring Success within commercial marts. But deeply versed in arts that spring From gifts of mind and depths of heart. Their words recording saints rehearse. Their praise a cherub-choir intones. Their fame survives adorning verse Incised upon memorial stones. THE REGULAR SOLDIER 57 THE REGULAR SOLDIER (These verses were written at Manila, P. I., in August, 1898, a few days after the city was captured from the Spanish by the American forces, at which time the writer was a member of the Fourteenth U. S. Infantry.) I A nation's heart beats high and fast, As legions leap to arms, Responsive to the bugle blast That thrills with war's alarms; From Huron's shores to Rio's banks Advance the volunteers. But foremost in the forming ranks Mute regular appears: One moment's lull, one quick command. He dashes from his native land, On fields of conflict, near or far. Behold the ready regular. II Thro swamp or brushwood, stones or stub, He marches day or night, Half-rations of the roughest grub To tease his appetite: 'Most any time he may be killed In some outposting fray, He ne'er complains, — he's duty-drilled, And knows how to obey: 58 THE REGULAR SOLDIER Of exploits on the field or post He never cares to prate or boast, His tales are told by many a scar, This stern and silent regular. Ill A blanket's folded in his pack, A change of clothes between, A biscuit's in his haversack, A swig's in his canteen. His campaign hat Is tattered, His leggings loose and frayed His uniform, mud-spattered From the trenches where he stayed All night before Manila's walls 'Mid showers of shells and Mauser balls A lesson in the brunt of war Learn from the rugged regular. IV Fitted for any realm to range, His hardened spirit mettle No circumstance of clime can change. No rigors can unsettle : With manners blunt and features burnt By usage rude and hard. THE REGULAR SOLDIER 59 The manly pliant traits he's learnt Are discipline's reward: His aim the mark has seldom missed, He's just as handy with his fist, For he can wrestle, fence or spar. This agile earnest regular. V How senseless to contemn and lance With taunts he can't resent. Because in days of peace, perchance, His hours are idly spent; Remember, arms ennoble men To cast the warrior's stamp. Whose guardian is obedience, when In garrison or camp : Blame not his awkward pen or speech, He's skilled in what the tactics teach, No blunders his maneuvers mar, This manual-modeled regular. VI Behold him, private in the ranks. On days of dress-parade. Whether in center or on flanks Each order is obeyed 60 THE LOWEST RANK In faultless unison as when The coursing spheres began; How grand to see a thousand men Move like a single man! There's steady cadence in his pace And serious silence in his face, His polished arms glint like a star, This trained and trusty regular. THE LOWEST RANK THE LOWEST rank known in the regular army, Which troopers award to an ease-seeking flunky, In lingo whose marksmanship always could charm me. Is "Dog robber to a lance-corporal's bunkie." A recruit in the ranks of the faithful though humble. The bunkie's much more than a snoring side- sleeper; He's a pal who can relish camp gossip and grumble, Yet muster himself without counsel or keeper. A grade below sergeant and just above private The corporal struts with an air self-concerned. FLEETING THOUGHT 61 While the ''lance" is in prospect and will not ar- rive at His full-chevroned bloom till a warrant is earned. The dodging dog-robber, so adept to pander, Who thus escapes discipline's rigid pursuits, Is menial-in-chief to the company commander. For whom he runs errands and shines up his boots. In battle's baptism, where even the nervous Are spurred by revenge to be steadfast and spunky, Away in the rear still nursing soft service. Loafs "Dog robber to a lance-corporal's bunkie." FLEETING THOUGHT I GRASPED my pen to write a thought But, like a flash, it fled; A search through memory but brought Distraction on my head: 'Tis thus with hopes so ardent sought, At length before us spread. We grasp — and lo ! behold, we've caught Adversity instead. 62 VERNAL MORN AND EVE VERNAL MORN AND EVE Behold! with sudden burst the blush Of morn upon the Orient skies, While soon from out th' adjoining bush Arise euphonious melodies; A whisper bids the spirit ''Hush" And harken to the feathered choir, For rival linnet and the thrush In mingled harmony conspire, Wild-warbling as they flit among The fragrant hawthorn bowers, And neighboring daisies, lately sprung, Are bathed in dewy showers: How sweet the early morning hours When Phoebus lifts his dazzling eye And all the cheer of birds and flowers Awaken more than ecstasy! But when the ever-varying dyes Of orange, saffron, purple, red Tinsel the clouds of evening's skies, As Phoebus goes to bed; 'Tis then arising pale and clear Above the depths of azured East, Fair Cynthia with her stars appear Like Hebe at the feast. VALENTINE'S DAY 63 VALENTINE'S DAY TO-DAY is Cupid's busy day, His missive-bearing darts Speed pretty tokens far away To gladden loving hearts. And, sweetheart, though this gift of mine May greet thee with surprise, Methinks no dainty Valentine So welcome to thine eyes. The image of myself I send In fond exchange for thine, Long be this tribute of a friend A treasured Valentine. Perhaps it will in after years Some happy hours beguile, And should deep sorrow threaten tears Perhaps 'twill win a smile. Though hope may fade and love depart By cruel fate's design, Still keep my image in thy heart, For there I'll cherish thine. 64 TO A YOUNG LADY LINES TO A YOUNG LADY (In answer to the complaint of a rival suitor who found fault with her favorite lover because he had unconsciously worn a hole in the seat of his trousers.) YOUR pretty face may wear a smile When next your sly inspecting glance Averts its love-looks for a while To search the seat of my old pants. For my landlady, gentle soul, With modest eyes and blushing face, Has patched the unadorning hole That peeped from such an awkward place. I care not for the prim attire Of which the gilded coxcomb brags, Most men of greatness we admire Were sometimes robed in pauper rags. Then think not I am less a man Because my clothes should wear or soil; That fray which some were loth to scan Was wrought by arduous honest toil. A tattered cover oft encloses The priceless contents of a volume, While verdant ivies and sweet roses Conceal the crumbling antique column. IN LIFE'S AUTUMN 65 T IN LIFE'S AUTUMN HE RICH rosy fruit ripening luscious and mellow, Which stirred by the breezes half-hiddenly swing Through the foliage brown crimson-tinted and yellow, Were once the sweet blossoms that bloomed in the Spring. 'Tis the Autumn of life which reveals in our faces Whether sorrow or joy has implanted the most, Then sadly we peer in the mirror for traces ^ Of beauties which youth could so blushingly boast. LONELINESS DOWN Edgecombe road this early morn As leisurely I chanced to walk, I spy a rose without a thorn. Full-blown upon a leafless stalk; All solitary it grows — , No infant buds its splendors share, No envious friends or rival foes, Alone it scents the morning air. 66 THE LIBERTINE'S LAMENT Its every petal drips of dew, Like tear-drops set in Beauty's eyes, Harmonious to its richer hues Of deep and dark vermillion dyes. Like some fair love-lorn maid who seeks A heart responsive to her own, With suffused eyes and tear-stained cheeks. She pines in solitude alone. THE LIBERTINE'S LAMENT THE sunshine of my life is o'er. Each hour descends a darker shade. My heart once buoyant to the core. Now feels its failing vigor fade. My ebbing pulse is slow and tame. While care has wrinkled o'er my brow. And what was former fire and flame Is smoke and smouldering ashes now. What fiery passions unsubdued, What page of folly's fruitless lore. What path of pleasure unpursued Is left for me to linger o'er! TWO PRAYERS 67 TWO PRAYERS I TMBUED with that emotion felt Which links devotion to desires When humans turn to Heaven for aid, A soldier and a slacker knelt Before the altar of their sires, And this is how the slacker prayed: II "Spare me to help preserve and rear A cultured type of humankind To better serve and praise Thee, Lord! Assign me, therefore, to some sphere Of civic welfare far behind The carnage wrought by shell and sword I" 68 TWO PRAYERS III With soul to selfish hopes averse, Where honor's aim stood uppermost, The warrior made no meek appeal, But drilled to speak in language terse. And flavored like his favorite toast. This triple pledge renewed with zeal IV "Three solemn vows are here rehearsed Which flinching under no pretext I'll keep where'er I roam; My homage to my God is first, My service to my country next, And last my duty to my home." 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