Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891.
Florence NightingaleRichard Henry Stoddard (18251903)
E
Should blot the desperate valor of thy men
In the Crimea, an Englishwoman’s name,
As sweet as ever came from poets’ pen,
Would still defy him,—Florence Nightingale!
Honor to that fair girl, whose pitying heart
Led her across the sea, to ease the smart
Of soldier wounds, and hush the soldier’s wail.
Men can be great when great occasions call:
In little duties women find their spheres,
The narrow cares that cluster round the hearth;
But this dear woman wipes a woman’s tears,
And wears the crown of womanhood for all.
Happy the land that gave such goodness birth!