Country of the Proud

By Léonie Adams 1899–1988 Leonie Adams

A fall over rock,

Metal answering to water,

Is the seal of this spot;

A land trodden by music

And the tune forgot.

Of a region savage,

The territory that was broken,

Silver gushed free;

And earth holy, earth meek shall receive it

In humility.

This, not dwelt in, this haunted,

The country of the proud,

Is curdling to stone,

And careless of the feet of the waters

As they glance from it down.

Léonie Adams, “Country of the Proud” from Poems: A Selection (New York: The Noonday Press, 1959). Used by permission of Judith Farr, Literary Executrix of the Estate of Léonie Adams.

Source: Poems: A Selection (1959)

Biography

An educator, consultant, editor, and poet, Leonie Adams was best known for her lyric poetry reminiscent of both the Romantic and Metaphysical periods. Her poetry won her several awards, including the Harriet Monroe Poetry Award, the Shelley Memorial Award, and the Bollingen Prize. She served in editorial capacities for both Wilson Publishing and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City during the 1920s and later taught . . .

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