| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Hope Deferred | | By Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833–1908) |
| | | BRING no more flowers and books and precious things! | |
| O, speak no more of our beloved Art, | |
| Of summer haunts,—melodious wanderings | |
| In leafy refuge from this weary mart: | |
| Surely such thoughts were dear unto my heart; | 5 |
| Now every word a newer sadness brings! | |
| Thus oft some forest-bird, caged far apart | |
| From verdurous freedom, droops his careless wings, | |
| Nor craves for more than food from day to day; | |
| So long bereft of wildwood joy and song, | 10 |
| Hopeless of all he dared to hope so long,— | |
| The music born within him dies away: | |
| Even the song he loved becomes a pain, | |
| Full-freighted with a longing all in vain. | | | | |
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