Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950). Spoon River Anthology. 1916.

179. Magrady Graham

TELL me, was Altgeld elected Governor?

For when the returns began to come in

And Cleveland was sweeping the East,

It was too much for you, poor old heart,

Who had striven for democracy

In the long, long years of defeat.

And like a watch that is worn

I felt you growing slower until you stopped.

Tell me, was Altgeld elected,

And what did he do?

Did they bring his head on a platter to a dancer,

Or did he triumph for the people?

For when I saw him

And took his hand,

The child-like blueness of his eyes

Moved me to tears,

And there was an air of eternity about him,

Like the cold, clear light that rests at dawn

On the hills!