Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry. 1904.
I. PatriotismOur State
John Greenleaf Whittier (18071892)T
The prairied west its heavy grain,
And sunset’s radiant gates unfold
On rising marts and sands of gold!
Is scant of soil, of limits strait;
Her yellow sands are sands alone,
Her only mines are ice and stone!
Too long her winter woods complain;
From budding flower to falling leaf,
Her summer time is all too brief.
And wintry hills, the school-house stands;
And what her rugged soil denies
The harvest of the mind supplies.
Are free, strong minds, and hearts of health;
And more to her than gold or grain
The cunning hand and cultured brain.
The stubborn strength of Pilgrim Rock;
And still maintains, with milder laws,
And clearer light, the good old cause!
While near her school the church-spire stands;
Nor fears the blinded bigot’s rule,
While near her church-spire stands the school.