Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
Emily Pfeiffer 184190A Song of Winter
B
I love thee where I see thee shine:
Thou sweetener of our common-ways,
And brightener of our wintry days.
Thou art undying, O be mine!
Be mine with all thy thorns, and prest
Close on a heart that asks not rest.
Upon my breast and on my brow;
Blow, buds, and plenish so my wreath
That none may know the wounds beneath.
No festal coronal art thou;
Thy honey’d blossoms are but hives
That guard the growth of winged lives.
As sunshine spill’d upon the land,
Or burning bushes all ablaze
With sacred fire; but went my ways;
Pluck’d kindler blooms on either hand;
Now of those blooms so passing sweet
None lives to stay my passing feet.
Feeds on the autumn’s dying sigh,
And from thy midst comes murmuring
A music sweeter than in spring.
Be mine to wear until I die,
And mine the wounds of love which still
Bear witness to his human will.