| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | III. Christmas Sonnets. 2. To E. C. S. | | By Bayard Taylor (1825–1878) |
| | | WHEN days were long, and o’er that farm of mine, | |
| Green Cedarcroft, the summer breezes blew, | |
| And from the walnut-shadows I and you, | |
| Dear Edmund, saw the red lawn-roses shine, | |
| Or, following our idyllic Brandywine | 5 |
| Through meadows flecked with many a flowery hue, | |
| To where with wild Arcadian pomp I drew | |
| Your Bacchic march among the startled kine,— | |
| You gave me, linked with old Mæonides, | |
| Your loving sonnet,—record dear and true | 10 |
| Of days as dear; and now, when suns are brief | |
| And Christmas snows are on the naked trees, | |
| I give you this,—a withered winter leaf, | |
| Yet with your blossom from one root it grew! | | | | |
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