| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1049. To a Crow |
| | | By Robert Burns Wilson |
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| BOLD, amiable, ebon outlaw, grave and wise! | |
| For many a good green year hast thou withstood— | |
| By dangerous, planted field and haunted wood— | |
| All the devices of thine enemies, | |
| Gleaning thy grudgëd bread with watchful eyes | 5 |
| And self-relying soul. Come ill or good, | |
| Blithe days thou see’st, thou feathered Robin Hood! | |
| Thou mak’st a jest of farm-land boundaries. | |
| Take all thou may’st, and never count it crime | |
| To rob the greatest robber of the earth, | 10 |
| Weak-visioned, dull, self-lauding man, whose worth | |
| Is in his own esteem. Bide thou thy time; | |
| Thou know’st far more of Nature’s lore than he, | |
| And her wide lap shall still provide for thee. | |
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