| Washington Monument by Night | |
| Carl Sandburg (1922) | |
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1 The stone goes straight. A lean swimmer dives into night sky, Into half-moon mist. 2 Two trees are coal black. This is a great white ghost between. It is cool to look at, Strong men, strong women, come here. 3 Eight years is a long time To be fighting all the time. 4 The republic is a dream. Nothing happens unless first a dream. 5 The wind bit hard at Valley Forge one Christmas. Soldiers tied rags on their feet. Red footprints wrote on the snow . . . . . . and stone shoots into stars here . . . into half-moon mist tonight. 6 Tongues wrangled dark at a man. He buttoned his overcoat and stood alone. In a snowstorm, red hollyberries, thoughts, he stood alone. 7 Women said: He is lonely . . . fighting . . . fighting . . . eight years . . . 8 The name of an iron man goes over the world. It takes a long time to forget an iron man. 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
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Poems for President Washington collection > Table of Contents |
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