Classic and Contemporary Poetry
CHICAGO, by JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY Poet's Biography First Line: Gaunt in the midst of the prairie Last Line: "answering her ""miserere!" Subject(s): Chicago Fire (1871) | ||||||||
GAUNT in the midst of the prairie, She who was once so fair; Charred and rent are her garments, Heavy and dark like cerements; Silent, but round her the air Plaintively wails, "Miserere!" Proud like a beautiful maiden, Art-like from forehead to feet, Was she till pressed like a leman Close to the breast of the demon, Lusting for one so sweet, So were her shoulders laden. Friends she had, rich in her treasures: Shall the old taunt be true, -- Fallen, they turn their cold faces, Seeking new wealth-gilded places, Saying we never knew Aught of her smiles or her pleasures? Silent she stands on the prairie, Wrapped in her fire-scathed sheet: Around her, thank God, is the Nation, Weeping for her desolation, Pouring its gold at her feet, Answering her "Miserere!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHICAGO [OCTOBER 8-10, 1871] by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER TWO CITIES by WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER A CRADLE SONG, FR. SONGS OF INNOCENCE by WILLIAM BLAKE ON SIR PALMES FAIRBORNE'S TOMB, IN WESTERMINSTER ABBEY by JOHN DRYDEN HYMN FOR EPIPHANY by REGINALD HEBER A GENTLE ECHO ON WOMAN (IN THE DORIC MANNER) by JONATHAN SWIFT A COUNTRY NOSEGAY by ALFRED AUSTIN BRUCE: HOW KING ROBERT WAS HUNTED BY THE SLEUTH-HOUND by JOHN BARBOUR |
|