Sunset: St. Louis
By Sara Teasdale
Hushed in the smoky haze of summer sunset,
When I came home again from far-off places,
How many times I saw my western city
Dream by her river.
Then for an hour the water wore a mantle
Of tawny gold and mauve and misted turquoise
Under the tall and darkened arches bearing
Gray, high-flung bridges.
Against the sunset, water-towers and steeples
Flickered with fire up the slope to westward,
And old warehouses poured their purple shadows
Across the levee.
High over them the black train swept with thunder,
Cleaving the city, leaving far beneath it
Wharf-boats moored beside the old side-wheelers
Resting in twilight.
From Flame and Shadow (1920) by Sara Teasdale
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight
(In Springfield, Illinois)
By Vachel Lindsay
It is portentous, and a thing of state
That here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down,
Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards
He lingers where his children used to play,
Or through the market, on the well-worn stones
He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.
A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.
He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.
He is among us: — as in times before!
And we who toss and lie awake for long
Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.
His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.
Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?
Too many peasants fight, they know not why,
Too many homesteads in black terror weep.
The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.
He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.
He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now
The bitterness, the folly and the pain.
He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn
Shall come; — the shining hope of Europe free:
The league of sober folk, the Workers’ Earth,
Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp and Sea.
It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,
That all his hours of travail here for men
Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace
That he may sleep upon his hill again?
Poetry News and Postings:
For its Poem-A-Day, the Academy of American Poets posted “Small Talk” By Eleanor Lerman, taken from her book The Sensual World Re-emerges: Poems.
New spring poetry books are listed at the Academy’s web site, poets.org. The sheer number is overwhelming.
Erin Kilmer, who blogs at Together for Good and is one of our regular contributors to the poetry jams on Twitter, has started a poetry blog, Together for Good Poetry.
Poets Marie Ponsot and Edward Hirsch talk to the Wall Street Journal about poetry and National Poetry Month (video).
Maureen Doallas at Writing Without Paper continues her series on state poet laureates with a post on Ruth Stone, Vermont’s poet laureate.
If you have a poem or know a good resource or like a poetry site, drop the link in the comments and we’ll feature it the next day.
- Poets and Poems: Alison Blevins and “Where Will We Live if the House Burns Down?” - July 1, 2025
- Poets and Poems: Paul Pastor and “The Locust Years” - June 26, 2025
- What Happened to the Fireside Poets? - June 24, 2025
Maureen Doallas says
So many wonderful sites to explore. Thank you for the call-out.
Maureen Doallas says
The “Windhover”, a sestet by Gerard Manley Hopkins, is featured here today:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/apr/01/windhover-gerard-manley-hopkins
L. L. Barkat says
Such a sad story. I wonder why they never married. Though, oddly, they seemed to marry in death.
Her poetry is marvelous. (Another one for the list 🙂
Erin says
I really enjoyed that poem by Sara Teasdale. And thanks for the shout-out!
deb says
okay, I’ve finally made my way over here. Need to have a look around.
I don’t twitter, but this blog is information too ?
deb