THE North Star whispers: “You are one
Of those whose course no chance can change.
You blunder, but are not undone,
Your spirit-task is fixed and strange.
“When here you walk, a bloodless shade,
A singer all men else forget.
Your chants of hammer, forge and spade
Will move the prarie-village yet.
“That young, stiff-necked, reviling town
Beholds your fancies on her walls,
And paints them out or tears them down,
Or bars them from her feasting halls.
“Yet shall the fragments still remain;
Yet shall remain some watch-tower strong
That ivy-vines will not disdain,
Haunted and trembling with your song.
“Your flambeau in the dusk shall burn,
Flame high in storms, flame white and clear;
Your ghost in gleaming robes return
And burn a deathless incense here.”
(Vachel Lindsay)
More Poetry from Vachel Lindsay:
Vachel Lindsay Poems based on Topics: Youth, Change, Chance, Musicians- Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan (Vachel Lindsay Poems)
- An Indian Summer Day on the Prairie (Vachel Lindsay Poems)
- A Colloquial Reply: To Any Newsboy (Vachel Lindsay Poems)
- A Rhyme About an Electrical Advertising Sign (Vachel Lindsay Poems)
- Prologue to "Rhymes to be Traded for Bread" (Vachel Lindsay Poems)
- The Lion (Vachel Lindsay Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Youth Poems, Change Poems, Chance Poems, Musicians PoemsBased on Keywords: beholds, deathless, feasting, blunder, chants, flambeau, watch-tower, bloodless, reviling, stiff-necked, ivy-vines