Arizona
Here's to the land of the rock and the cactus,
The sun and the sand and the sky,
Where the weather is hot and the tourists are flocking,
And the cowboys are riding high.
Here's to the land where the copper is gleaming,
The land of the orange and vine,
Here's to the land of the mountain and mesa,
Where hearts are as warm as the clime.
About the Author
James William Foley (1874–1939) was an American poet known for his work that often reflected the landscapes and life in the American West.
Summary
Foley offers a celebratory toast to Arizona through a catalog of its defining images: cactus, sun, cowboys, copper, agriculture, mountains, mesas, tourists, and heat.
Analysis
Unlike the solemn desert poems around it, this piece is sociable and exuberant. The repeated “Here’s to the land” gives it the cadence of a toast, while natural resources, agriculture, tourism, Western mythology, and landscape coexist within the same portrait. Its closing comparison—warm hearts and warm climate—turns Arizona’s notorious heat into a metaphor for hospitality.