I SAW the soundless city, couched in charm, Before the booming traffic was begun, It lay at dawn as peaceful as a nun Asleep beside the sea's gigantic arm. It seemed a silver haven shorn of harm, Wherein humanity, with battlings done, At last the ages' dream-lit peace had won, Never to wake at Mammon's mad alarm; But as the ship sped nearer to the shore, I saw the smoke above the chimneyed plains; The sun-kissed walls a sterner visage wore, I heard the traffic tramp the canyon lanes, And landing there amid the rising roar, I knew Prometheus still tugged at his chains. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 28 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING HYMN OF THE EARTH by WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING (1817-1901) THE SOFTNESS OF SYBARIS by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS THE WIRES by ALEXANDER ANDERSON TO MR. BARBAULD, NOVEMBER 14, 1778 by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |