| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | On Nearing Washington | | By Robert Underwood Johnson (1853–1937) |
| | | CITY of homes and in my heart my home, | |
| Though other streets exact a grudging fee:— | |
| How leap my pulses when afar I see | |
| The dawn creep whitening down thy solemn dome! | |
| For now my care-restricted steps may roam | 5 |
| Thy urban groves—a forest soon to be— | |
| Where, like thy shining river, placid, free, | |
| Contentment dwells and beckons me to come. | |
| |
| Ah, city dear to lovers!—that dost keep | |
| For their delight what Mays and what Novembers!— | 10 |
| Kindling the flame, and if it ever sleep, | |
| New-lighting it within the breathing embers; | |
| Dear even in their sorrow! for when they weep | |
| ’T is for rare joys, scarce known till Love remembers. | | | | |
|
|
