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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE WASHINGTON BICENTENNIAL by CLARA BECK

First Line: DREAMS ARE VISIONS OF THE NIGHT
Last Line: AND NATIONS JOIN TO HAIL HIM CHIEF.
Subject(s): PRESIDENTS, UNITED STATES; WASHINGTON, D.C.; WASHINGTON, GEORGE (1732-1799);

Dreams are visions of the night;
Dreams are musings of the day;
By faith, He took those visions bright
And molded them as potter's clay.

A forest waste, a trackless plain,
O'errun with beasts and red men bold,
He made a fertile field of grain,
Where souls grow large and lives unfold.

Th' untutored man, by passions fanned
In smothered feud and open hate,
Now clasps with joy a brother's hand; --
He made them masters of the state.

Bold tyranny must yield Him place;
Oppression feel His power and might;
Fair freedom shows her smiling face
And gives to man His long-sought right.

He gave His wealth, -- a little thing, --
He gave His life, -- 'twas all too brief;
We own Him greater than a King,
And nations join to hail Him Chief.



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