| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 540. The Stab |
| | | By Will Wallace Harney |
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| ON the road, the lonely road, | |
| Under the cold white moon, | |
| Under the ragged trees he strode; | |
| He whistled and shifted his weary load— | |
| Whistled a foolish tune. | 5 |
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| There was a step timed with his own, | |
| A figure that stooped and bowed— | |
| A cold, white blade that gleamed and shone, | |
| Like a splinter of daylight downward thrown— | |
| And the moon went behind a cloud. | 10 |
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| But the moon came out so broad and good, | |
| The barn-fowl woke and crowed; | |
| Then roughed his feathers in drowsy mood, | |
| And the brown owl called to his mate in the wood, | |
| That a dead man lay on the road. | 15 |
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