| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1349. The Contrast |
| | | By Helen Gray Cone |
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| HE loved her, having felt his love begin | |
| With that first look,—as lover oft avers. | |
| He made pale flowers his pleading ministers, | |
| Impressed sweet music, drew the springtime in | |
| To serve his suit; but when he could not win, | 5 |
| Forgot her face and those gray eyes of hers; | |
| And at her name his pulse no longer stirs, | |
| And life goes on as though she had not been. | |
| She never loved him; but she loved Love so, | |
| So reverenced Love, that all her being shook | 10 |
| At his demand whose entrance she denied. | |
| Her thoughts of him such tender color took | |
| As western skies that keep the afterglow. | |
| The words he spoke were with her till she died. | |
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