American Poetry

A Country Pathway

I come upon it suddenly, alone-
A little pathway winding in the
weeds
The fringe the roadside; and with
dreams my own,
I wander as it leads.
Full wistfully along the slender way,
Through summer tan of freckled
shade and shine,
I take the path that leads me as it
may-
Its every choice is mine.
-James Whitcomb Riley

Inscription on the Liberty Bell

...proclaim liberty throught
all the land
unto all the inhabitants
thereof.
-The Book of Leviticus 25:10.

The Statue of Old Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was eight feet tall.
His arm was hickory limb of a maul.
His sword was so long he dragged it on the ground.
Every friend was an equal. Every foe was a hound....

He licked the British at Noo Orleans;
Beat hem out of their elegant jeans.
He piled the cotton-bales twenty feet high,
And snorted "feedom" and it flashed from his eye.

And the Americn Eagle swooped through the air,
And cheered when he heard the Jackson swear-
"By the eternal, let them come.
Sound Yankee Doodle. Let the bullets hum."...
-Vachel Lindsay

Abraham Lincoln

Remember he was poor and country-bred:
His face was lined; he walked with awkward gait.
Smart people laughed at him sometimes and said,
"How can so very plain a man br great?"

Remember he was hunble, used to toil.
Strong arms he had build a shack, a fence,
long legs to tramp the woods, to plow the soil,
A head chuck full of backwoods common sense...

Remember that his eyes could light with fun;
That wisdom, courage, set his name apart;
But when the rest is duly said and done,
Remember that men loved him for his heart.
-Mildred Meigs

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With Conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome;...
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
-Emma Lazarus

Four of July

We hitched up the mare and we buckled her down,
Piled in the buggy and headed for town.
We got to a spot that was covered with shade.
Somebody shouted, "Here comes the parade!"

Potatoe sack races and kites on the fly,
A pie eaating contest with blueberry pie.
Baskets of picinics laid out in the park,
Awaiting the fireworks when it got dark.

Skyrockets wounding the heaven we saw,
Gasping the wonder and bursting with awe,
Standing stock still in the croud and its stare
As white Roman candles would sparkle in the air.

That beautiful day was so wonderful big
That I slept the way home in the back of the rig,
And dreamed of Old Glory against a blue sky.
God surely hallowed the Four of July.
-Robert Newton Peck

Brooklyn Bridge

(jump rope song)

Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge,
I walked to the middle and jumped over the edge,
The water was greasy, the water was brown
Like chop suey in Chinatown,
and I gobble it up as I sink down,-
Down-
down-
down-
down-
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge,
I walked to the middle, look over the edge.
But I didn't jump off, what I said was not true-
I just made it up to scare you;
Watch me jump!-
Watch me jump!-
Watch me jump!-
BOO!
-William Jay Smith