Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
Songs of Deliverance
By Orrick Johns
II. VirginsI
When I was young I feared virgins;
But I do not any more.…
By contact with them I learn that each is a center,
And has a period of brightness,
And stands epitome in that brief space
Of the Universe!
Ah, the ephemeral eternal!
In virgins’ eyes I would live reflected as in a globe,
And know myself purer than crystal.