| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 578. Invocation |
| | | By Edmund Clarence Stedman |
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| THOU,—whose endearing hand once laid in sooth | |
| Upon thy follower, no want thenceforth, | |
| Nor toil, nor joy and pain, nor waste of years | |
| Filled with all cares that deaden and subdue, | |
| Can make thee less to him—can make thee less | 5 |
| Than sovereign queen, his first liege, and his last | |
| Remembered to the unconscious dying hour,— | |
| Return and be thou kind, bright Spirit of song, | |
| Thou whom I yet loved most, loved most of all | |
| Even when I left thee—I, now so long strayed | 10 |
| From thy beholding! And renew, renew | |
| Thy gift to me fain clinging to thy robe! | |
| Still be thou kind, for still thou wast most dear. | |
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