| Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917. |
| |
| 224. Spoon River Anthology |
| | | Henry C. Calhoun |
| | | By Edgar Lee Masters |
| |
| |
| I REACHED the highest place in Spoon River, | |
| But through what bitterness of spirit! | |
| The face of my father, sitting speechless, | |
| Child-like, watching his canaries, | |
| And looking at the court-house window | 5 |
| Of the county judge’s room, | |
| And his admonitions to me to seek | |
| My own in life, and punish Spoon River | |
| To avenge the wrong the people did him, | |
| Filled me with furious energy | 10 |
| To seek for wealth and seek for power. | |
| But what did he do but send me along | |
| The path that leads to the grove of the Furies? | |
| I followed the path and I tell you this: | |
| On the way to the grove you’ll pass the Fates, | 15 |
| Shadow-eyed, bent over their weaving. | |
| Stop for a moment, and if you see | |
| The thread of revenge leap out of the shuttle | |
| Then quickly snatch from Atropos | |
| The shears and cut it, lest your sons, | 20 |
| And the children of them and their children | |
| Wear the envenomed robe. | |
| |
|
|
|
