| Publication information |
|
Source: Poems of American History Source type: book Document type: poem Document title: “Buffalo” Author(s): Coates, Florence Earle Editor(s): Stevenson, Burton Egbert Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Place of publication: Boston, Massachusetts Year of publication: 1908 Pagination: 649 |
| Citation |
| Coates, Florence Earle. “Buffalo.” Poems of American History. Ed. Burton Egbert Stevenson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1908: p. 649. |
| Transcription |
| full text |
| Keywords |
| Buffalo, NY (poetry); Pan-American Exposition (poetry). |
| Named persons |
| none. |
| Notes |
| From title page: Collected and Edited by Burton Egbert Stevenson. |
| Document |
Buffalo
[1901]
A TRANSIENT city, marvellously fair,
Humane, harmonious, yet nobly free,
She built for pure delight and memory.
At her command, by lake and garden rare,
Pylon and tower majestic rose in air,
And sculptured forms of grace and symmetry.
Then came a thought of God, and, reverently,—
“Let there be Light!” she said; and Light was there.
O miracle of splendor! Who could know
That Crime, insensate, egoist and blind,
Destructive, causeless, caring but to smite,
Would in its dull Cimmerian gropings find
A sudden way to fill those courts with woe,
And swallow up that radiance in night?