| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1452. Ave! Nero Imperator |
| | | By Duffield Osborne |
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| WHAT! Roses on thy tomb! and was there then | |
| One who could sorrow o’er thy wretched fate? | |
| One heart that echoed not the cry of men,— | |
| Its joy and triumph, its contempt and hate? | |
| One being in all the circle of the lands | 5 |
| Who owed a kindness to thy bloodstained hands? | |
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| What though thy wrist, adown the chariot course, | |
| Guided thy bounding charges to the prize! | |
| What though shamed theatres, with plaudits hoarse, | |
| Extolled thy lyre o’er his that decks the skies! | 10 |
| Is glory won from slaves whose nights are stored | |
| With dreams of poisoned draught and proffered sword? | |
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| Nero, poor triumphs these; nor broidered gown, | |
| Nor ivory car upon the Sacred Way, | |
| Nor laureled imperator’s golded crown | 15 |
| For unwon battles borne in vain display, | |
| Can win thee worship or adorn a name, | |
| The scourge of nations—Rome’s imperial shame. | |
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| But here, where all is silent, where no turn | |
| Of fear or greed can prompt the courtier’s art, | 20 |
| Thine only glory hangs upon thine urn | |
| To tell that thou hast triumphed o’er a heart; | |
| And souls of flowers, when mortal lips are dumb, | |
| May plead for thy poor shade in days to come. | |
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