And cities of a strange and ancient build—
Palmyra, marbled-columned, purple-domed,
Dido's old Carthage, and famed Babylon,
Where men have reigned and untamed beasts have roamed—
Palmyra, marbled-columned, purple-domed,
Dido's old Carthage, and famed Babylon,
Where men have reigned and untamed beasts have roamed—
These rose from chaos and went back to dust,
And Progress, phoenix-natured, kept her state
In conclave of the swiftly moving years
And built anew that which was desolate.
And Progress, phoenix-natured, kept her state
In conclave of the swiftly moving years
And built anew that which was desolate.
And to myself, still half a-dream, I said
Here was but symbol of a human life—
So press we ever toward the widening dawn,
So tread upon the shards of death and strife.
Here was but symbol of a human life—
So press we ever toward the widening dawn,
So tread upon the shards of death and strife.
And Love and Hope are architects to build
Above our failures never faith and trust,
As states and peopled cities rise and shine
High o'er the ruins of the old world's dust.
Above our failures never faith and trust,
As states and peopled cities rise and shine
High o'er the ruins of the old world's dust.
TOMORROW
TODAY is yours—
Its arch of overbending sky,
Its dream-filled cloud-ship sailing by,
Its drip of pearl-gray rain;
Its bloomy breath of rue or rose,
Its call of love, its hate of foes,
Its stab of jealous pain.
Its arch of overbending sky,
Its dream-filled cloud-ship sailing by,
Its drip of pearl-gray rain;
Its bloomy breath of rue or rose,
Its call of love, its hate of foes,
Its stab of jealous pain.
49
