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

By Mary ThacherHigginson

940 Changelings

THE GHOSTS of flowers went sailing

Through the dreamy autumn air,—

The gossamer wings of the milkweed brown,

And the sheeny silk of the thistle-down;

But there was no bewailing,

And never a hint of despair.

From the mountain-ash was swinging

A gray, deserted nest;

Scarlet berries where eggs had been;

Softly the flower-wraiths floated in:

And the brook and breeze were singing

When the sun sank down in the west.