| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 967. Fruitionless |
| | | By Ina Coolbrith |
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| AH! little flower, upspringing, azure-eyed, | |
| The meadow-brook beside, | |
| Dropping delicious balms | |
| Into the tender palms | |
| Of lover-winds, that woo with light caress, | 5 |
| In still contentedness, | |
| Living and blooming thy brief summer-day:— | |
| So, wiser far than I, | |
| That only dream and sigh, | |
| And, sighing, dream my listless life away. | 10 |
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| Ah! sweetheart birds, a-building your wee house | |
| In the broad-leavëd boughs, | |
| Pausing with merry trill | |
| To praise each other’s skill, | |
| And nod your pretty heads with pretty pride; | 15 |
| Serenely satisfied | |
| To trill and twitter love’s sweet roundelay:— | |
| So, happier than I, | |
| That, lonely, dream and sigh, | |
| And, sighing, dream my lonely life away. | 20 |
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| Brown-bodied bees, that scent with nostrils fine | |
| The odorous blossom-wine, | |
| Sipping, with heads half thrust | |
| Into the pollen dust | |
| Of rose and hyacinth and daffodil, | 25 |
| To hive, in amber cell, | |
| A honey feasting for the winter-day:— | |
| So, better far than I, | |
| Self-wrapt, that dream and sigh, | |
| And, sighing, dream my useless life away. | 30 |
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