Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Mary McNeilFenollosa

1647 Miyoko San

SNARE me the soul of a dragon-fly,

The jewelled heart of a dew-tipped spray,

A star’s quick eye,

Or the scarlet cry

Of a lonely wing on a dawn-lit bay.

Then add the gleam of a golden fan,

And I will paint you Miyoko San.

Find me the thought of a rose, at sight

Of her own pale face in a fawning stream,

The polished night

Of a crow’s slow flight,

And the long, sweet grace of a willow’s dream.

Then add the droop of a golden fan,

And I will paint you Miyoko San.

Lure me a lay from a sunbeam’s throat,

The chant of bees in a perfumed lair,

Or a single note

Gone mad to float

To its own sweet death in the upper air.

Then add the click of a golden fan,

And I have painted Miyoko San.