| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 760. The Starry Host |
| | | By John Lancaster Spalding |
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| THE COUNTLESS stars, which to our human eye | |
| Are fixed and steadfast, each in proper place, | |
| Forever bound to changeless points in space, | |
| Rush with our sun and planets through the sky, | |
| And like a flock of birds still onward fly; | 5 |
| Returning never whence began their race, | |
| They speed their ceaseless way with gleaming face | |
| As though God bade them win Infinity. | |
| Ah whither, whither is their forward flight | |
| Through endless time and limitless expanse? | 10 |
| What power with unimaginable might | |
| First hurled them forth to spin in tireless dance? | |
| What beauty lures them on through primal night, | |
| So that for them to be is to advance? | |
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