Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Charlotte PerkinsStetson

1414 The Beds of Fleur-de-Lys

HIGH-LYING, sea-blown stretches of green turf,

Wind-bitten close, salt-colored by the sea,

Low curve on curve spread far to the cool sky,

And, curving over them as long they lie,

Beds of wild fleur-de-lys.

Wide-flowing, self-sown, stealing near and far,

Breaking the green like islands in the sea;

Great stretches at your feet, and spots that bend

Dwindling over the horizon’s end,—

Wild beds of fleur-de-lys.

The light keen wind streams on across the lifts,

Their wind of western springtime by the sea;

The close turf smiles unmoved, but over her

Is the far-flying rustle and sweet stir

In beds of fleur-de-lys.

And here and there across the smooth, low grass

Tall maidens wander, thinking of the sea;

And bend, and bend, with light robes blown aside,

For the blue lily-flowers that bloom so wide,—

The beds of fleur-de-lys.