Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.
By William CullenBryant82 O Fairest of the Rural Maids
O
Thy birth was in the forest shades;
Green boughs, and glimpses of the sky,
Were all that met thine infant eye.
Were ever in the sylvan wild;
And all the beauty of the place
Is in thy heart and on thy face.
Is in the light shade of thy locks;
Thy step is as the wind, that weaves
Its playful way among the leaves.
And silent waters heaven is seen;
Their lashes are the herbs that look
On their young figures in the brook.
Are not more sinless than thy breast;
The holy peace, that fills the air
Of those calm solitudes, is there.