| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
| |
| 1648. A Drifting Petal |
| | | By Mary McNeil Fenollosa |
| |
| |
| IF I, athirst by a stream, should kneel | |
| With never a blossom or bud in sight, | |
| Till down on the theme of its liquid night | |
| The moon-white tip of a sudden keel, | |
| A fairy boat, | 5 |
| Should dawn and float | |
| To my hand, as only the Gods deserve, | |
| The cloud-like curve, | |
| The loosened sheaf, | |
| The ineffable pink of a lotus leaf,— | 10 |
| I should know, I should feel, that far away | |
| On the dimpled rim of a brighter day | |
| A thought had blossomed, and shaken free | |
| One sheath of its innermost soul for me. | |
| |
|
|
|
