Poems (Proctor)/Illinois

by Edna Dean Proctor

ILLINOIS.

Domain of homes and herds and fields,
Where lavish nature richest yields
Through summer's heat and autumn's shine
 Her harvests' bounteous wealth and joy;
No star upon our banner set,
No gem of Freedom's coronet,
Burns with a prouder ray than thine—
 Majestic Illinois!

To north rolls Michigan's blue deep;
Ohio, Mississippi, sweep
Thy prairies by; and, shrined between,
 Our Lincoln slumbers, past annoy.
What grandeur should thy people own!—
Each man a king, each home a throne,
Each woman love's and honor's queen,—
 Majestic Illinois!