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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WASHINGTON SQUARE by RICHARD WATSON GILDER

First Line: THIS IS THE END OF TOWN I LOVE THE BEST
Last Line: THE CROSS OF LIGHT,—THAT LOOMS FROM THE SACRED TOWER.
Subject(s): WASHINGTON SQUARE, NEW YORK CITY;
This is the end of town I love the best.
O, lovely the hour of light from the burning west—
Of light that lingers and fades in the shadowy square
Where the solemn fountain lifts a shaft in the air
To catch the skyey colours, and fling them down
In a wild-wood torrent that drowns the noise of the town.
And lovely the hour of the still and dreamy night
When, lifted against the blue, stands the arch of white
With one clear planet above; and the sickle moon,
In curve reversed from the arch's marble round,
Silvers the sapphire sky. Now soon, ah, soon,
Shall the city square be turned to holy ground,
Through the light of the moon and the stars and the glowing flower,—
The Cross of Light,—that looms from the sacred tower.



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