| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1399. An Old Street |
| | | By Virginia Woodward Cloud |
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| THE PAST walks here, noiseless, unasked, alone; | |
| Knockers are silent, and beside each stone | |
| Grass peers, unharmed by lagging steps and slow | |
| That with the dark and dawn pass to and fro. | |
| The Past walks here, unseen forevermore, | 5 |
| Save by some heart who, in her half-closed door, | |
| Looks forth and hears the great pulse beat afar,— | |
| The hum and thrill and all the sounds that are, | |
| And listening remembers, half in fear, | |
| As a forgotten tune reëhoes near, | 10 |
| Or from some lilac bush a breath blows sweet | |
| Through the unanswering dusk, the voiceless street,— | |
| Looks forth and sighs,—with candle held above,— | |
| “It is too late for laughter,—or for love.” | |
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