Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.
By Edward SanfordMartin1244 A Girl of Pompeii
A
She lay asleep, a lovely child;
The only thing left undefiled
Where all things else bore taint of sin.
The universal law suspend,
And turn Time’s chariot back, and blend
A thousand years with yesterday.
Around her girlish figure pressed,
Caught the sweet imprint of her breast,
And held her, surely clasped, from harm.
Comes this dear maid of long ago,
Sheltered from woeful chance, to show
A spirit’s lovely counterpart,
That form shall fate of flesh escape,
And, quit of earth’s corruptions, shape
Itself, imperishably pure.