Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE EMPIRE STATE by LUCY BURGMAN

First Line: THEY TELL ME OF LANDS THAT ARE FAIRER THAN
Last Line: AND FREE MEN ARE TILLING THY SOIL.
Subject(s): NEW YORK CITY; NORTH, THE; WINTER; MANHATTAN; NEW YORK, NEW YORK; THE BIG APPLE;
They tell me of lands that are fairer than this
Where palm and bread-fruit grow,
Of sunny days and moonlight hours,
Where wintry winds never blow.

But give me a home in a northern clime
With its season of ice and snow,
Where a harvest follows each seeding time,
And scorching winds never blow.

With its verdant vales and tree-clad hills,
Its peaceful lakes and turbulent streams,
Dotted with factories, farms and mills,
Where our fathers fought, labored and dreamed.

Thy bleak winds of winter are welcome to me.
Native land of labor and toil,
If the banner of freedom still floats over thee,
And free men are tilling thy soil.



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