Poppies

by CARL SANDBURG (1878-1967)

She loves blood-red poppies for a garden to walk in.
In a loose white gown she walks
and a new child tugs at cords in her body.

Her head to the west at evening when the dew is creeping,
A shudder of gladness runs in her bones and torsal fiber:
She loves blood-red poppies for a garden to walk in.

Carl Sandburg’s most popular book is probably The People, Yes (1936). From the outset, the poet showed his interest in Midwestern speech as spoken by the working class of the industrial cities, and folk speech and folk expression became a clear feature of his poetry.

Carl Sandburg Contemporaries
Robert Frost
Paul L. Dunbar
Lucy M. Montgomery
Alfred Noyes