Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
The Modest Jazz-birdVachel Lindsay
From “Whimseys”
T
A cock-a-doodle bray,
A jingle-bells, a boiler works,
A he-man’s roundelay.
I send you out to fight!”
So the youngster spread his sunflower wings
And roared with all his might.
From Oregon to Maine;
And the land was dark with airships
In the darting Jazz-bird’s train.
His bell-mouth shook the sky;
And the Yankees in the trenches
Gave back the hue and cry.
And Germany went down!
The fowl of steel with clashing claws
Tore off the Kaiser’s crown.