|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
MAIDEN LANE, by LOUISE MORGAN SILL
First Line: Down maiden lane, where clover grew
Last Line: And let us stroll down maiden lane.
Subject(s): New York City; Manhattan; New York, New York; The Big Apple
First Line: Down maiden lane, where clover grew
Last Line: And let us stroll down maiden lane.
Subject(s): New York City; Manhattan; New York, New York; The Big Apple
Down Maiden Lane, where clover grew,
Sweet-scented in the early air,
Where sparkling rills went shining through
Their grassy banks, so green, so fair,
Blithe little maids from Holland land
Went tripping, laughing each to each,
To bathe the flax, or spread a band
Of linen in the sun to bleach.
More than two centuries ago
They wore this path—a maiden's lane—
Where now such waves of commerce flow
As never dazed a burgher's brain.
Two hundred years ago and more
Those thrifty damsels, one by one,
With plump, round arms their linen bore
To dry in Mana-ha-ta's sun.
But now! Behold the altered view;
No tender sward, no bubbling stream,
No laughter,—was it really true,
Or but the fancy of a dream?
Were these harsh walls a byway sweet,
This floor of stone a grassy plain?
Pray vanish, modern city street,
And let us stroll down Maiden Lane.
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
READY FOR THE CANNERY by BERTON BRALEY
TRANTER IN AMERICA by AUGUST KLEINZAHLER
MEETING YOU AT THE PIERS by KENNETH KOCH
FEBRUARY EVENING IN NEW YORK by DENISE LEVERTOV
ON 52ND STREET by PHILIP LEVINE
THREE POEMS FOR NEW YORK by JOSEPHINE MILES
NEW YORK SUBWAY by HILDA MORLEY
BOWLING GREEN by LOUISE MORGAN SILL