251. On the Porch by Harriet Monroe. Monroe, Harriet, ed. 1917. The New Poetry: An Anthology

Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.

251. On the Porch

By Harriet Monroe


AS I lie roofed in, screened in,
From the pattering rain,
The summer rain—
As I lie
Snug and dry,	5
And hear the birds complain:

Oh, billow on billow,
Oh, roar on roar,
Over me wash
The seas of war.	10
Over me—down—down—
Lunges and plunges
The huge gun with its one blind eye,
The armored train,
And, swooping out of the sky,	15
The aeroplane.
Down—down—
The army proudly swinging
Under gay flags,
The glorious dead heaped up like rags,	20
A church with bronze bells ringing,
A city all towers,
Gardens of lovers and flowers,
The round world swinging
In the light of the sun:	25
All broken, undone,
All down—under
Black surges of thunder …

Oh, billow on billow
Oh, roar on roar,	30
Over me wash
The seas of war …

As I lie roofed in, screened in,
From the pattering rain,
The summer rain—	35
As I lie
Snug and dry,
And hear the birds complain.