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Post by jspnrvr on Feb 11, 2007 8:12:29 GMT -5
OK, folks, we've got a couple of birthdays coming up. When I was in school in Illinois, Lincoln's birthday was a state holiday, a day off, and we knew what it was about. Washington and Lincoln hung in every classroom, watching our every move. It's February, a lot of people are cold and not moving around much. So while we sit by the fire, moulding bullets and mending harness, let's remember our greatness as a country and pass on some poetry about, for or by these two Americans, men who helped found and grow this nation.
HANNAH ARMSTRONG
I wrote him a letter asking him for old times' sake
To discharge my sick boy from the army;
But maybe he couldn't read it.
Then I went to town and had James Garber,
Who wrote beautifully, to write him a letter;
But maybe that was lost in the mails.
So I traveled all the way to Washington.
I was more than an hour finding the White House.
And when I found it they turned me away,
Hiding their smiles. Then I thought:
"Oh, well, he ain't the same as when I boarded him
And he and my husband worked together
And all of us called him Abe, there in Menard."
As a last attempt I turned to a guard and said:
"Please say it's old Aunt Hannah Armstrong
From Illinois, come to see him about her sick boy
In the army."
Well, just in a moment they let me in!
And when he saw me he broke in a laugh,
And dropped his business as president,
And wrote in his own hand Doug's discharge,
Talking the while of the early days,
And telling stories.
Edgar Lee Masters, "Spoon River Anthology"
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Post by booklady on Feb 11, 2007 8:27:43 GMT -5
Well, j, this one is sad, but it's one that I know of off the top of my head.  THE MARTYR (Indicative of the Passion of the People on the 15th Day of April, 1865) by: Herman Melville (1819-1891) GOOD Friday was the day Of the prodigy and crime, When they killed him in his pity, When they killed him in his prime Of clemency and calm-- When with yearning he was filled To redeem the evil-willed, And, though conqueror, be kind; But they killed him in his kindness, In their madness and their blindness, And they killed him from behind. There is sobbing of the strong, And a pall upon the land; But the People in their weeping Bare the iron hand: Beware the People weeping When they bare the iron hand. He lieth in his blood-- The father in his face; They have killed him, the Forgiver-- The Avenger takes his place, The Avenger wisely stern, Who in righteousness shall do What the heavens call him to, And the parricides remand; For they killed him in his kindness, In their madness and their blindness, And his blood is on their hand. There is sobbing of the strong, And a pall upon the land; But the People in their weeping Bare the iron hand: Beware the People weeping When they bare the iron hand. "The Martyr" was originally published in Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War. Herman Melville. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1866. |
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Post by rogesgallery on Feb 11, 2007 9:16:49 GMT -5
Abe Blinkin
He was a good man and true
Honest as a politician can be
Though by his own admission:
I am sorely inadequate a man
to face this mission.
His name is writ indelibly
upon the wall of history
A silly complex twist of truth
Confounding the intellectual sleuth
Through the years his mannerism
Peers have used in bond and schizm
The People question, yet Congress passes
Arabs smile and wear dark glasses
Watch close your leaders you will see
No eye will contact you or me
They all have learned to emulate
Abe Blinkin ore his twist of fate
Abe Blinkin
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Post by gailkate on Feb 11, 2007 19:26:14 GMT -5
This is a nice idea, jay, but I don't know any off the top of my head and am not clever enough to write one like roges. So, naturally, I googled.
Oh, slow to smite and swift to spare,
Gentle and merciful and just!
Who, in the fear of God, didst bear
The sword of power, a nation's trust!
In sorrow by thy bier we stand,
Amid the awe that hushes all,
And speak the anguish of a land
That shook with horror at thy fall.
Thy task is done; the bond are free:
We bear thee to an honored grave
Whose proudest monument shall be
The broken fetters of the slave.
Pure was thy life; its bloody close
Hath placed thee with the sons of light,
Among the noble host of those
Who perished in the cause of Right.
William Cullen Bryant
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Post by gailkate on Feb 11, 2007 19:27:24 GMT -5
My goodness, look at this: Lincoln’s assassination was a tragic event for the American people, and poets of the time (and thence) wrote poems about Lincoln and his presidency to commemorate the man. Our look at poems about Lincoln begin with Walt Whitman and end with several poems by Carl Sandburg, with the voices of other famous and some lesser-known poets all paying homage to their fallen commander-in-chief - their captain. “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman “Abraham Lincoln, Born Feb. 12, 1809” by Walt Whitman “This Dust Was Once The Man” by Walt Whitman “Hush’d Be The Camps To-Day” by Walt Whitman “When Lilacs Last In The Door-Yard Bloom’d” by Walt Whitman “To Abraham Lincoln” by John J. Loud “Poem (Through The Dim Pageant Of The Years)” by Julia Ward Howe “Abraham Lincoln” by Berton Bellis “Death Of President Lincoln!” by James D. Gay “Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight” by Vachel Lindsay “Lincoln” by Vachel Lindsay “Abraham Lincoln” by William Cullen Bryant “Abraham Lincoln, From The Ode Recited At The Harvard Commemoration” by James Russell Lowell “Lincoln, The Man Of The People” by Edwin Markham “Anne Rutledge” by Edgar Lee Masters “The Master” by Edwin Arlington Robinson “A Farmer Remembers Lincoln” by Witter Bynner “The Lincoln-Child” by James Oppenheim “Lincoln” by John Gould Fletcher “Lincoln” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox “Lincoln ” by Nancy Byrd Turner “Cool Tombs” by Carl Sandburg “In A Back Alley” by Carl Sandburg “Knucks” by Carl Sandburg “The People, Yes” by Carl Sandburg poetry.poetryx.com/poems/11030/I'm going to start reading! |
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Post by jspnrvr on Feb 11, 2007 20:27:55 GMT -5
Good list, gail. Here's one of them.
ANNE RUTLEDGE
Out of me unworthy and unknown
The vibrations of deathless music;
"With malice toward none, with charity for all."
Out of me the forgiveness of millions toward millions,
And the beneficent face of a nation
Shining with justice and truth.
I am Anne Rutledge who sleep beneath these weeds,
Beloved in life of Abraham Lincoln,
Wedded to him, not through union,
But through separation.
Bloom forever, O Republic,
From the dust of my bosom!
Edgar Lee Masters "Spoon River Anthology"
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Post by Jane on Feb 12, 2007 13:53:10 GMT -5
Wonderful poetry. Thanks for sharing.
And he would never be elected today.
Too ugly.
Too unpolitic.
Too melancholy.
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Post by Trusty on Feb 15, 2007 10:38:39 GMT -5
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Post by joew on Feb 15, 2007 11:29:57 GMT -5
Yes. Well … Shall we give California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas back to Mexico? And Florida back to Spain. And Puerto Rico to Spain too, along with New York City. Leaving aside the National Anthem issue and all the tangents, just in general it would probably be good for the country to get rid of them all. But we'd let John McCain immigrate if he wanted to. ;D |
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Post by doctork on Feb 15, 2007 19:51:44 GMT -5
Shucks, I like Richie Valens!!
The anthem sounds good to me, but I'm with GK on this one. We should have America the Beautiful as our anthem.
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Post by joew on Feb 16, 2007 0:58:59 GMT -5
I like GK's idea of The Star Spangled Banner transposed into the key of G.
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Post by hartlikeawheel on Feb 16, 2007 9:47:04 GMT -5
I'm with dock and don't want to sing anymore about bombs bursting in air as something to be proud of. But purple mountain's majesty is a nice image.
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Post by brutus on Feb 16, 2007 10:12:34 GMT -5
I'm with dock and don't want to sing anymore about bombs bursting in air as something to be proud of. But purple mountain's majesty is a nice image. Well, Hart, with respect to how you feel about combat, I say this: Without bombs bursting in air, we undoubtedly would be speaking our words with an accent that would sound convincingly like Brit! ~B~ |
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Post by joew on Feb 16, 2007 11:36:25 GMT -5
If I am not mistaken, in the original it was "purple mountain majesties."
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Post by rogesgallery on Feb 16, 2007 11:49:58 GMT -5
Wonderful poetry. Thanks for sharing. And he would never be elected today. Too ugly. Too unpolitic. Too melancholy. Jane? I think you may be mistaken, He fits all the requirements for vice president and in that case someone else may have been assassinated and bingo another Lyndon Johnson. |
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Post by Trusty on Feb 16, 2007 11:54:53 GMT -5
Shucks, I like Richie Valens!! The actual name of the tune was "The Star-Spangled Bamba".  |
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Post by booklady on Feb 16, 2007 20:48:59 GMT -5
George Washington
a poem by James Russell Lowell
Soldier and statesman, rarest unison;
High-poised example of great duties done
Simply as breathing, a world's honors worn
As life's indifferent gifts to all men born;
Dumb for himself, unless it were to God,
But for his barefoot soldiers eloquent,
Tramping the snow to coral where they trod,
Held by his awe in hollow-eyed content;
Modest, yet firm as Nature's self; unblamed
Save by the men his nobler temper shamed;
Never seduced through show of present good
By other than unsetting lights to steer
New-trimmed in Heaven, nor than his steadfast mood
More steadfast, far from rashness as from fear,
Rigid, but with himself first, grasping still
In swerveless poise the wave-beat helm of will;
Not honored then or now because he wooed
The popular voice, but that he still withstood;
Broad-minded, higher-souled, there is but one
Who was all this and ours, and all men's - Washington
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Post by jspnrvr on Feb 17, 2007 6:13:34 GMT -5
Thank you, booklady.
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Post by jspnrvr on Feb 18, 2007 21:08:14 GMT -5
Well, booklady found the poem that I would have posted, and I haven't had a chance to find any others. But I do have a few little gems here. These are taken from "George Washington's Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation". " At the age of 14, George Washington wrote down 110 rules........ These rules were drawn from an English translation of a French book of maxims and were intended to polish manners, keep alive the best affections of the heart, impress the obligation of moral virtues, teach how to treat others in social relations, and above all, inculcate the practice of a perfect self-control." So here we go.
1st Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.
2nd When in company, put not your hands to any part of the body, not usually discovered.
3rd Show nothing to your friend that may affright him.
7th Put not off your clothes in the presence of others, nor go out your chamber half dressed.
9th Spit not in the fire, nor stoop low before it. Neither put your hands into the flames to warm them, nor set your feet upon the fire, especially if there be meat before it.
12th Shake not the head, feet, or legs; roll not the eyes; lift not one eyebrow higher than the other; wry not the mouth; and bedew no man's face with your spittle by approaching too near him when you speak.
13th Kill no vermin as fleas lice, ticks &c in the sight of others; if you see any filth or thick spittle, put your foot dexteriously upon it; if it be upon the clothes of your companions, put it off privately; and if it be upon your own clothes, return thanks to him who puts it off.
22nd Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another, though he were your enemy.
38th In visiting the sick, do not presently play the physician if you be not knowing therein.
44th When a man does all he can though it succeeds not well blame not him that did it.
Those are a few for now. Have a good week, all.
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Post by joew on Feb 18, 2007 22:43:14 GMT -5
Most of those maxims are pretty good.
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Post by gailkate on Feb 19, 2007 19:55:23 GMT -5
They make me want to read the whole 110. But #9 has me a bit puzzled. Why can't you put your hands into the fire? Why can't you bend over? - is this a buttfly issue?
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Post by booklady on Feb 19, 2007 20:26:05 GMT -5
From www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/prespoetry/gw.html: Washington as Poet  [George Washington, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left]. Pencil drawing. [between 1850 and 1900?] Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. Library of Congress. Two poems written by Washington are known to survive. 1 Both are creations of a teenage boy frustrated in love. The poems appear in a 6 x 3¼ inch notebook Washington used as a diary during his time as part of a surveying expedition for Lord Thomas Fairfax in Virginia's Northern Neck. The poems are separate from the diary, which Washington titled "A Journal of my Journey over the Mountains began Fryday the 11th of March 1747/8," and appear under the date 1749-1750. The first poem is an unfinished acrostic to a young lady named Frances Alexander, with whom Washington was at the time infatuated:   From your bright sparkling Eyes, I was undone; 2Rays, you have, more transparent than the sun, Amidst its glory in the rising Day, None can you equal in your bright array; Constant in your calm and unspotted Mind; Equal to all, but will to none Prove kind, So knowing, seldom one so Young, you'l Find Ah! woe's me that I should Love and conceal, Long have I wish'd, but never dare reveal, Even though severely Loves Pains I feel; Xerxes that great, was't free from Cupids Dart, And all the greatest Heroes, felt the smart. The inspiration for Washington's second poem is unknown:  Oh Ye Gods why should my Poor Resistless Heart Stand to oppose thy might and Power At Last surrender to cupids feather'd Dart And now lays Bleeding every Hour For her that's Pityless of my grief and Woes And will not on me Pity take Ill sleep amongst my most Inviterate Foes And with gladness never with to Wake In deluding sleepings let my Eyelids close That in an enraptured Dream I may In a soft lulling sleep and gentle repose Possess those joys denied by Day Washington's foray into the world of poetry apparently ended with these youthful efforts; he is not known to have written any poems during his later years. Notes 1. Some scholars believe Washington did not write the poems commonly attributed to him, and that he copied them from a now unknown book. 2. The text of both poems is taken from John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799, vol. 1, (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1931), 46-47. Catalog Record |
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Post by jspnrvr on Feb 20, 2007 7:08:07 GMT -5
Thank you, bl. A couple more "Rules".
45th Being to advise or reprehend any one, consider whether it ought to be in public or private, presently or at some other time, in what terms to do it; and in reproving show no sign of cholar, but do it with all sweetness and mildness.
48th Wherein you reprove another be unblameable yourself, for example is more prevalent than precepts.
50th Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.
51st Wear not your clothes foul, ripped or dusty, but see that they be brushed once every day, at least, and take heed that you approach not to any uncleaness.
53rd Run not in the streets; neither go too slowly nor with mouth open; go not shaking your arms; kick not the earth with your feet; go not upon the toes or in a dancing fashion.
56th Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.
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Post by Jane on Feb 20, 2007 8:26:11 GMT -5
But, but, I want to go down the street in a dancing fashion! C'mon, pleeeze!
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Post by gailkate on Feb 20, 2007 10:29:18 GMT -5
:oThere goes Jane, dancing and kicking up dust all over her clothes, sometimes running, sometimes slowing down and waving her arms, mouth wide open as she shouts for joy - and all in the bad company of most unseemly Chattering Fools.  |
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Post by joew on Feb 20, 2007 19:25:23 GMT -5
Yet however dusty or disheveled those clothes become, you are advised to put them not off in the presence of others.
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Post by jspnrvr on Feb 21, 2007 19:02:44 GMT -5
82nd. Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise.
89th Speak not evil of the absent, for it is unjust.
92nd Take no salt, nor cut your bread with your knife greasy.
108th When you speak of God or his attributes, let it be seriously & with reverence. Honor & obey your natural parents although they be poor.
109th Let your recreations be manful not sinful.
110th Labour to keep alive in your breast that little celestial fire called conscience.
So, some copy exercises from the 14 year old George.
The man:
"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American People." First Inaugural Address, 30 April, 1789
"Of all dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness--these firmest props of the duties of Men and citizens." Farewell Address, 19 September, 1796
Happy Birthday, President Washington
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Post by booklady on Feb 21, 2007 19:46:52 GMT -5
Jay, it's cool that you are so interested in our two greatest presidents. What's behind this? What prompted you to get into this? I'm always curious about how people come into their interests.
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Post by jspnrvr on Feb 21, 2007 20:06:23 GMT -5
Well, frankly, BL, I don't know why more people aren't interested and posting. Thanks for your contributions.
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Post by booklady on Feb 21, 2007 20:28:10 GMT -5
It's been fun. I wish I could have found more. I'm surprised there aren't more poems about George Washington. It's shocking.
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Dopey Member
