Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
Only Not to Be Too Early OldLee Wilson Dodd
O
Only not to feel too soon the day
Emptied of all desire, unyielding gray;
Only not to sink too weary and cold
For fireside mirth, for friendly talk, for free
Soul-kindling thought “about it and about”;
Nay, I would rather end life in a rout,
Stricken low by folly, dropping with a laugh,
Than creep thus tamely out
Trailing the tatters of my mystery
To the dull cadence of an epitaph.