 | Joaquin Miller's Poems |  |
175
THE NEW PRESIDENT
Granite and marble and granite,
Corridor, column and dome!
A capitol huge as a planet
And massive as marble-built Rome.
Corridor, column and dome!
A capitol huge as a planet
And massive as marble-built Rome.
Stair steps of granite to glory!
Go up with thy face to the sun;
They are stained with the footsteps and story
Of giants and battles well won.
Go up with thy face to the sun;
They are stained with the footsteps and story
Of giants and battles well won.
Stop—stand on this stairway of granite,
Lo! Arlington, storied and still,
With a lullaby hush. But the land it
Springs fresh as that sun-fronted hill.
Lo! Arlington, storied and still,
With a lullaby hush. But the land it
Springs fresh as that sun-fronted hill.
Beneath us stout-hearted Potomac
In majesty moves to the sea—
Beneath us a sea of proud people
Moves on, undivided as he.
In majesty moves to the sea—
Beneath us a sea of proud people
Moves on, undivided as he.
Yea, strife it is over and ended
For all the days under the sun;
The banners unite and are blended
As moonlight and sunlight in one.
For all the days under the sun;
The banners unite and are blended
As moonlight and sunlight in one.
Lo! banners and banners and banners,
Broad star-balanced banners of blue—
If a single star fell from fair heaven,
Why, what would befall us think you?
Broad star-balanced banners of blue—
If a single star fell from fair heaven,
Why, what would befall us think you?
| Joaquin Miller's Poems | |