The Stricken City

The Stricken City
103

I

They will build it great, they will build It strong
Its streets the children of men will throng:
It will be superb with its lofty domes
And its marble halls and its stately homes,
But never again can it ever he
The city I journeyed far to see

II

They will make it great, they will make it fair,
And fortune-seekers will gather there:
Its wharves will call to the wide world’s fleets
And traffic will roar through its hand- some streets,
But the hands of men can never re- store
The far-famed city that is no more

III

They will leave no trace of its flame- swept hiils
Of the twisted beams or the blackened silis,
And over the haunts where vice was bred
And over the haunts where vice was bred
The realm of bountiful trade will spread,
But, however they build and whatever the cost,
They can never give back what the world has lost

IV

They will build with hope, they will build with pride,
They will build it long, they will build it wide;
With quenchless courage and splendid zeal
They will build a marvel of stone and steel, But the city that stood by the wide, blue bay
Forever and ever is swept away!

V

They will build it strong, they win build it well,
And a greater city than that which fell
Will gleam on the hills that are deso late,
And riches will stream through its Golden Gate;
But no man ever again may see
The city that was and has ceased to be!
-SE Kiser