The Conservative (Lovecraft)/July 1919/At Providence in 1918
At Providence in 1918
By Rheinhart Kleiner
I left my own Manhattan, seeking pleasure,
And having journeyed hence
A hundred miles, I found if in full measure
In teeming Providence!
I sought her hidden ways and quaint old places
That nestled ev’rywhere,
And found that Time had left benignant traces
On alley, street, and square!
I thought of one for whom these ways had beauty
And splendour all their own;
My friend, whose path of pleasure and of duty
These scenes had only known.
And over all the cloud of war hung drearly;
The summons to the strife
Was soon to come; and one whom I held dearly
Was near the close of life!
But with unclouded brow and heart uplifted,
All unaware, among
These scenes and sights, by golden summer gifted,
I mov’d—for I was young.