| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 792. Who Knows? |
| | | By Nora Perry |
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| WHO knows the thoughts of a child, | |
| The angel unreconciled | |
| To the new strange world that lies | |
| Outstretched to its wondering eyes? | |
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| Who knows if a piteous fear, | 5 |
| Too deep for a sob or a tear, | |
| Is beneath that breathless gaze | |
| Of sudden and swift amaze,— | |
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| Some fear from the dim unknown, | |
| Some shadow like black mist blown | 10 |
| Across the heavenly ray | |
| Of this new-come dawning day? | |
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| But the smile which as sudden and swift | |
| Breaks through the shadowy rift,— | |
| From what far heaven or near, | 15 |
| What unseen blissful sphere, | |
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| Comes the smile of a little child, | |
| This angel unreconciled | |
| To the new, strange world that lies | |
| Outstretched to its wondering eyes? | 20 |
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