ROBERT FROST BATTLES SUN AT JFK INAUGURATION
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The sun shone bright and clear on January 20, 1961 as the new President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was sworn in on the East Front of the Capitol building. It had to be a welcome sight following the previous day's snowstorm, but the sun proved to be a nuisance for 86 year old Robert Frost* when he attempted to read "Dedication**," a poem he had written especially for the historic occasion.
Participants and guests on the stage showed concern as Mr. Frost struggled to read his poem. Frost just could not see the words on the paper because of the glare of the sun. He said..."I don't have a good light here."
At one point, Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson put his hat alongside the paper to try to shade it from the sun. That didn't solve the problem. Finally, the poet told the audience that he would recite another one of his poems, "A Gift Outright" (1941) from memory, and he proceeded to do so without hesitation.
A Gift Outright.
The land was ours before we were the lands
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people, She was ours
in Massachusetts, in Virginia.
But we were England's, still colonials,
Possessed what we were still unpossessed by
Possessed by what we no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living.
And forthwith found salvation in surrender
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced
Such as she was, such as she would become
And for this occasion let me add,
to what she will become.*
*Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco & moved to Lawrence, MA in 1884. He sold his first poem in 1894 & attended Harvard. RLF taught English at Amherst College & won Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry in 1924, 1931, 1937 & 1943. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (1960) & was named Poet Laureate of Vermont (1961).
**"Dedication"...Excerpts from the poem Frost intended to read at JFK's Inaugural...
Come fresh from an election like the last
The greatest vote of a people ever cast
So close yet sure to be abided by
It is no miracle our mood is high
A golden age of poetry & power
Of what this noonday's the beginning hour
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) The sun shone bright and clear on January 20, 1961 as the new President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was sworn in on the East Front of the Capitol building. It had to be a welcome sight following the previous day's snowstorm, but the sun proved to be a nuisance for 86 year old Robert Frost* when he attempted to read "Dedication**," a poem he had written especially for the historic occasion.
Participants and guests on the stage showed concern as Mr. Frost struggled to read his poem. Frost just could not see the words on the paper because of the glare of the sun. He said..."I don't have a good light here."
At one point, Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson put his hat alongside the paper to try to shade it from the sun. That didn't solve the problem. Finally, the poet told the audience that he would recite another one of his poems, "A Gift Outright" (1941) from memory, and he proceeded to do so without hesitation.
A Gift Outright.
The land was ours before we were the lands
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people, She was ours
in Massachusetts, in Virginia.
But we were England's, still colonials,
Possessed what we were still unpossessed by
Possessed by what we no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living.
And forthwith found salvation in surrender
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced
Such as she was, such as she would become
And for this occasion let me add,
to what she will become.*
*Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco & moved to Lawrence, MA in 1884. He sold his first poem in 1894 & attended Harvard. RLF taught English at Amherst College & won Pulitzer Prizes for his poetry in 1924, 1931, 1937 & 1943. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal (1960) & was named Poet Laureate of Vermont (1961).
**"Dedication"...Excerpts from the poem Frost intended to read at JFK's Inaugural...
Come fresh from an election like the last
The greatest vote of a people ever cast
So close yet sure to be abided by
It is no miracle our mood is high
A golden age of poetry & power
Of what this noonday's the beginning hour
