| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1531. Past |
| | | By Winifred Howells |
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| THERE, as she sewed, came floating through her head | |
| Odd bits of poems, learned in other days | |
| And long forgotten in the noisier ways | |
| Through which the fortunes of her life now led; | |
| And looking up, she saw upon the shelf | 5 |
| In dusty rank her favorite poets stand, | |
| All uncaressed by her fond eye or hand; | |
| And her heart smote her, thinking how herself | |
| Had loved them once and found in them all good | |
| As well as beauty, filling every need; | 10 |
| But now they could not fill the emptiness | |
| Of heart she felt ev’n in her gayest mood. | |
| She wanted once no work her heart to feed, | |
| And to be idle once was no distress. | |
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