Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE STREETS, 1869, by WILLIAM OSBORN STODDARD First Line: Our city is born of the pure, blue sea Last Line: In leaving our streets all hid in the dirt. Subject(s): New York City - 19th Century; Refuse & Refuse Disposal; Streets; Avenues | ||||||||
Our city is born of the pure, blue sea, And girt by the waters of rivers three Two of them large and one of them small And the ocean tides, as they rise and fall, Wash the feet of our island town, Swinging and plashing up and down. Easy it should be to keep us clean, A city that lies such washings between; Plenty of water and plenty of soap, Plenty of shovels and hoes, we hope, And other hose that may carry and squirt Streams of water wherever there's dirt; And yet this town, that should be so clean, Is the dirtiest city that ever was seen. From end to end of each filthy street Nothing is pure and nothing is sweet, And the mire our rolling wheels that clogs Is foul with the bodies of cats and dogs, And the offal of cleaner brutes than they Who leave our streets in so vile a way In spite of all the money we pay. For, know, oh monarch of Scanderoon, That we, thy people, from June till June, Pay enough, in our hard won gold, Fairly counted and straightly told, If into a sheet it was properly rolled, To cover the pavement of stone and wood The pavement that is, we mean, that should Be under the sloppy and slippery mire Where our garments spoil and our horses tire From end to end of the city wide, And leave an elegant fringe outside. And the thing is a thing, oh king, that sours On us all, to find that the city powers, The grand magnorums who round you stand, And take our money with greedy hand, See no evil, or shame, or hurt In leaving our streets all hid in the dirt. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHINATOWN BLUES by CLARENCE MAJOR KEEP DRIVING by NAOMI SHIHAB NYE DEEP IN EUROPE by TOMAS TRANSTROMER IN THE STREETS by LOUIS UNTERMEYER EVENING SONG ON OUR STREET by DAVID WAGONER ANGLOSAXON STREET by EARL (EARLE) BIRNEY SONNET: 24. THE STREET by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL A STEP AWAY FROM THEM by FRANK O'HARA (1926-1966) THE GATES OF THE HUDSON by WILLIAM OSBORN STODDARD |
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