Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
Arthur Joseph Munby b. 1828Flos Florum
O
Upon her breast she wore it, in that part
Where many a throbbing pulse doth heave and start
At the mere thought of Love and his sweet lore.
No polish’d gems hath she, no moulded ore,
Nor any other masterpiece of art:
She hath but Nature’s masterpiece, her heart;
And that show’d ruddy as the rose she bore
Because that he, who sought for steadfastness
Vainly in other maids, had found it bare
Under the eyelids of this maiden fair,
Under the folds of her most simple dress.
She let him find it; for she lov’d him, too,
As he lov’d her: and all this tale is true.