Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.
By MayburyFleming1151 To Demeter
T
Upon thy face, and shows thee back thine own;
And every flock that on thy hillsides grazes,
And every breeze from thy fair rivers blown,
And all the nestlings from thy branches flown,
Are eloquent in thy praises,
Demeter, mother of truth.
More lovely make thy face, adorn thy head,
Add beauty to thy sweet eyes, ever glowing
With love and strength and godhead; and thy tread
Sweetens the earth; and all the gods are dead
But thee,—thee only, strowing
Ever the land with youth.
Woman and girl and lover and friend and queen;
And this tame, time-worn world is full requited
For that the Christ has cost us, and the teen
Bred of swift time. And thy kissed palms between—
Thy dear kissed hands—are righted
The heart-knot and the ruth.