C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.
The Chiffonier
By William Wetmore Story (1819–1895)
I
I seek what others cast away!
In refuse-heaps the world throws by,
Despised of man, my trade I ply;
And oft I rake them o’er and o’er,
And fragments broken, stained, and torn,
I gather up, and make my store
Of things that dogs and beggars scorn.
I am the poor Chiffonier!
Peering along with pick and light,
And while the world in darkness sleeps,
Waking to rake its refuse-heaps:
I scare the dogs that round them prowl,
And light amid the rubbish throw:
For precious things are hid by foul,
Where least we heed and least we know.
I am the poor Chiffonier!
No tainted mound of offal vile,
No drain or gutter I despise,
For there may lie the richest prize,
And oft amid the litter thrown,
A silver coin—a golden ring—
Which holdeth still its precious stone,
Some happy chance to me may bring.
I am the poor Chiffonier!
Were in a loom of wonder made,
And beautiful and free from shame
When from the master’s hand they came.
The reckless world that threw them off
Now heeds them only to despise;
Yet, ah! despite its jeers and scoff,
What virtue still within them lies!
I am the poor Chiffonier!
These ruined rags you pass in scorn,
This refuse by the highway tost,
I seek that they may not be lost;
And, cleansed from filth that on them lies,
And purified and purged from stain,
Renewed in beauty they shall rise
To wear a spotless form again.
I am the poor Chiffonier!