Poems (Linn)/To the Straw in a Horse-Car
TO THE STRAW IN A HORSE-CAR.
ONCE you waved in fields of beauty
Underneath the blue;
Now you come to do the duty
Men have given you.
Underneath the blue;
Now you come to do the duty
Men have given you.
Oh, how sweet the breath of spring was,
As it kissed each blade,
And the white clouds drove across you
Drifts of sun and shade!
As it kissed each blade,
And the white clouds drove across you
Drifts of sun and shade!
And beneath the smile of summer,
How you rustled then,
As the mower came to reap you
For the use of men!
How you rustled then,
As the mower came to reap you
For the use of men!
And to-night, when cold and tired
Of the throngs I meet,
I espied your nodding plumage
Lying at my feet;
Of the throngs I meet,
I espied your nodding plumage
Lying at my feet;
How I thanked you for the pictures
That you brought to me,
Of your billowy, blooming beauty,
Lovelier than the sea.
That you brought to me,
Of your billowy, blooming beauty,
Lovelier than the sea.
Though man trample on your sweetness
I remember still;
Let them thoughtlessly deface you,
Soil you if they will;
I remember still;
Let them thoughtlessly deface you,
Soil you if they will;
Memory shows me all the beauty
That you used to wear;
And I never can forget it
Though downtrodden there.
That you used to wear;
And I never can forget it
Though downtrodden there.