From Bindle's opera house in the village <br />To Broadway is a great step. <br />But I tried to take it, my ambition fired <br />When sixteen years of age, <br />Seeing "East Lynne" played here in the village <br />By Ralph Barrett, the coming <br />Romantic actor, who enthralled my soul. <br />True, I trailed back home, a broken failure, <br />When Ralph disappeared in New York, <br />Leaving me alone in the city -- <br />But life broke him also. <br />In all this place of silence <br />There are no kindred spirits. <br />How I wish Duse could stand amid the pathos <br />Of these quiet fields <br />And read these words.<br /><br />Edgar Lee Masters<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/flossie-cabanis/
