Stedman and Hutchinson, comps. A Library of American Literature:
An Anthology in Eleven Volumes. 1891.
Vols. IX–XI: Literature of the Republic, Part IV., 1861–1889
To a Lily
By James Matthews Legaré (18231859)[Born in Charleston, S. C., 1823. Died at Aiken, S. C., 1859. Orta-Undis, and Other Poems. 1847.]
G
Thou lily white.
For she, who spies thee waving here,
With thee in beauty can compare
As day with night.
Boast whiter charms.
Thy stem prone bent with loveliness
Of maiden grace possesseth less;
Therein she charms.
Thyself:—So she
Beholds her image in her eyes
Reflected. Thus did Venus rise
From out the sea.
Thou rival vain
Of her whose charms have thine outdone:
Whose purity might spot the sun,
And make thy leaf a stain.