Will Carleton
Who is Will Carleton
William McKendree Carleton (October 21, 1845 – December 18, 1912) was an American poet from Michigan. Carleton's poems were most often about his rural life.
Biography
Born in rural Lenawee County, Hudson, Michigan, Carleton was the fifth child of John Hancock and Celeste (Smith) Carleton. In 1869, he graduated from Hillsdale College, (where he was a member of delta tau delta fraternity) and delivered on that occasion the poem, "Rifts in the Cloud".After graduating from college in 1869, Carleton first worked as a newspaper journalist in Hillsdale. He had been in the habit of writing poetry as a youngster. His first significant work published was "Betsey and I Are Out", a humorous verse about a divorce that was first printed in the Toledo Blade, and reprinted by H...
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Will Carleton Poems
- Our Army Of The Dead
By the edge of the Atlantic, where the waves of Freedom roar,
And the breezes of the ocean chant a requiem to the shore,
On the Nation's eastern hill-tops, where its corner-stone was laid,
On the mountains of New England, where our fathers toiled and prayed,
...
- Apples Growing
Underneath an apple-tree
Sat a dame of comely seeming,
With her work upon her knee,
And her great eyes idly dreaming.
...
- Death-doomed
They're taking me to the gallows, mother--they mean to hang me high;
They're going to gather round me there, and watch me till I die;
All earthly joy has vanished now, and gone each mortal hope,--
They'll draw a cap across my eyes, and round my neck a rope;
...
- Out Of The Old House, Nancy
Out of the old house, Nancy--moved up into the new;
All the hurry and worry is just as good as through.
Only a bounden duty remains for you and I--
And that's to stand on the door-step, here, and bid the old house good-bye.
...
- The House Where We Were Wed
I've been to the old farm-house, good-wife,
Where you and I were wed;
Where the love was born to our two hearts
That now lies cold and dead.
...
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