Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891.
Thy SongFrances Laughton Mace (18361899)
A
Ask of the Spring, when first the blossoms stir,
Which of their fairy pennons waves for her;
Ask of the Night what star of all that shine
Is her own signet, peerless and divine;
Ask of the Sun which purple follower
Among the clouds is his sole worshipper,
Lifting at dawn his colors and his sign.
As clouds the vivid hues of sunlight wear,
And all an equal rank and kinship know,
So is thy memory the awakening,
The living warmth, the radiance large and fair
In which all songs of mine to utterance grow.