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Smoke and Steel

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Smoke and Steel (1920)
by Carl Sandburg
3888134Smoke and Steel1920Carl Sandburg

SMOKE AND STEEL

BY

CARL SANDBURG

Author of "Chicago Poems"
"Cornhuskers"

NEW YORK
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY

COPYRIGHT, 1920, BY
HARCOURT, BRACE AND COMPANY, INC.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. BY
QUINN AND BODEN COMPANY, INC.
RAHWAY, N.J.

To

COL. EDWARD J. STEICHEN

PAINTER OF NOCTURNES AND FACES, CAMERA ENGRAVER
OF GLINTS AND MOMENTS, LISTENER TO BLUE
EVENING WINDS AND NEW YELLOW ROSES,
DREAMER AND FINDER, RIDER OF GREAT
MORNINGS IN GARDENS, VALLEYS,
BATTLES.

Acknowledgments are due Poetry (Chicago), The New Republic, The Liberator, The Dial, and The Chicago Daily News for permission to reprint poems that appeared originally in their pages.

CONTENTS

SMOKE NIGHTS PAGE
Smoke and Steel 3
Five Towns on the B. & O 11
Work Gangs 12
Pennsylvania 14
Whirls 15
PEOPLE WHO MUST
People Who Must 19
Alley Rats 20
Eleventh Avenue Racket 21
Home Fires 22
Hats 23
They All Want to Play Hamlet 24
The Mayor of Gary 25
Omaha 26
Galoots 27
Crabapple Blossoms 28
Real Estate News 30
Manual System 31
Stripes 32
Honky Tonk in Cleveland, Ohio 33
Crapshooters 34
Soup 35
Clinton South of Polk 36
Blue Island Intersection 37
Red-headed Restaurant Cashier 38
Boy and Father 39
Clean Curtains 41
Crimson Changes People 42
Neighbors 44
Cahoots 45
Blue Maroons 46
The Hangman at Home 47
Man, the Man-Hunter 48
The Sins of Kalamazoo 49
BROKEN-FACE GARGOYLES PAGE
Broken-face Gargoyles 57
Aprons of Silence 59
Death Snips Proud Men 60
Good-night 61
Shirt 62
Jazz Fantasia 63
Do You Want Affidavits? 64
Old-fashioned Requited Love 65
Purple Martins 66
Brass Keys 68
Pick Offs 69
Manufactured Gods 70
Mask 71
PLAYTHINGS OF THE WIND
Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind 75
Broken Tabernacles 78
Ossawatomie 79
Long Guns 81
Dusty Doors 82
Flash Crimson 83
The Lawyers Know Too Much 85
Losers 87
Places 88
Threes 89
The Liars 90
Prayers After World War 93
A. E. F. 94
Bas-Relief 95
Carlovingian Dreams 96
Bronzes 97
Let Love Go On 98
Killers 99
Clean Hands 100
Three Ghosts 102
Pencils 103
Jug 105
And This Will be All? 106
Hoodlums 107
Yes, the Dead Speak to Us 109
MIST FORMS
Calls 115
Sea-Wash 116
Silver Wind 117
Evening Waterfall 118
PAGE
Crucible 119
Summer Stars 120
Throw Roses 121
Just Before April Came 122
Stars, Songs, Faces 123
Sandpipers 124
Three Violins 125
The Wind Sings Welcome in Early Spring 126
Tawny 127
Slippery 128
Helga 129
Baby Toes 130
People With Proud Chins 131
Winter Milk 132
Sleepyheads 133
Sumach and Birds 134
Women Washing Their Hair 135
Peach Blossoms 136
Half Moon in a High Wind 137
Remorse 138
River Moons 139
Sand Scribblings 140
How Yesterday Looked 141
Paula 142
Laughing Blue Steel 143
They Ask Each Other Where They Came From . 144
How Much? 145
Throwbacks 146
Wind Song 147
Three Spring Notations on Bipeds 148
Sandhill People 150
Far Rockaway Night till Morning 151
Humming Bird Woman 152
Buckwheat 153
Blue Ridge 154
Valley Song 155
Mist Forms" 156
Pigeon 157
Chasers 158
Horse Fiddle 159
Timber Wings 161
Night Stuff 162
Spanish 163
Shagbark Hickory 164
The South Wind Say So 165
ACCOMPLISHED FACTS PAGE
Accomplished Facts 169
Grieg Being Dead 170
Chords 171
Dogheads 172
Trinity Place 173
Portrait . 174
Potomac River Mist I75
Jack London and O. Henry 176
His Own Face Hidden 177
Cups of Coffee 170
PASSPORTS
Smoke Rose Gold 181
Tangibles 182
Night Movement New York 183
North Atlantic 184
Fog Portrait 188
Flying Fish 189
Home Thoughts 190
In the Shadow of the Palace 191
Two Items 192
Streets Too Old 193
Savoir Faire 194
Mohammed Bek Hadjetlache 196
High Conspiratorial Persons 197
Baltic Fog Notes 198
CIRCLES OF DOORS
Circles of Doors 203
Hate 204
Two Strangers Breakfast 205
Snow 206
Dancer 207
Plaster 208
Curse of a Rich Polish Peasant on His Sister Who Ran Away With a Wild Man 209
Woman With a Past 210
White Hands 211
An Electric Sign Goes Dark 212
They Buy With an Eye to Looks 214
Proud and Beautiful 215
Telegram 216
Glimmer 217
White Ash 218
Testimony Regarding a Ghost 219
PAGE
Put Off the Wedding Five Times and Nobody Comes to It 220
Baby Vamps 222
Vaudeville Dancer 223
Balloon Faces 224
HAZE
Haze 229
Cadenza 232
Memoranda 233
Potomac Town in February 234
Buffalo Dusk 235
Corn Hut Talk 236
Branches 238
Rusty Crimson 239
Letter S 240
Weeds 241
New Farm Tractor 242
Pods 243
Harvest Sunset 244
Nights Nothings Again 245
PANELS
Panels 253
Dan 254
Whiffletree 255
Mascots 256
The Skyscraper Loves Night 257
Never Born 258
Thin Strips 259
Five Cent Balloons 260
My People 261
Swirl 262
Wistful 263
Basket 264
Fire Pages 265
Finish 266
For You 267

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1967, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 56 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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