ear- So ut hern lit',!; I \ . ii I Poets i Class T^^*^/ Book i.X Copyright^?. COPYRIGHT DEPOSITS A YEAR BOOK OF SOUTHERN POETS By HARRIET P. LYNCH NEW YORK DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 214-220 East 23d Street Copyright, 1909, by Dodge Publishing Company [Southern Poets] ^K* NOTE The compilers desire to thank the following publishers who have generously consented to permit the use of selections of which they hold the copyright : Houghton, Mifflin Company for selections from "Colonial Ballads, Sonnets and Other Verses," by Margaret J. Preston; B. F. Johnson Publishing Company for selections from Poems of Henry Timrod; J. B. Lippincott Company for selections from " Songs Old and New," by Margaret J. Preston; John C. Wins- ton Company for selection from Poems by John Trotwood Moore; Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company for selections from Poems by Paul Hamilton Hayne; John Lane Company for selections from Lyrics — Poems — Later Lyrics by John B. Tabb, and "Augustine the Man," by Amelie Rives; Little, Brown & Company for selections from "Cartoons," by Margaret J. Preston, and "Hidden Sweet- ness," by Mary Bartley; Whittet & Shepperson for selections from " Sonnets on Scripture Themes," by Robert Whittet; Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. for selections from Poems by Edgar Allan Poe; The Century Company for selections from Poems by John C. McNeill and Poems by Irwin Russell; M. Stolz & Company for selections from "The Shadows on the Wall," by Howard Weeden; Frederick A. Stokes Company for selections from " Rings and Love Knots," by Samuel Minturn Peck; Chas. Scribner's Sons for selections from Poems by Sidney Lanier, and "The Coast of Bohemia," by Thomas Nelson Page; The Neale Publishing Company for selections from "The Ivory Gates," by Armistead C. Gordon; Doubleday, Page & Co. for selections from "A Freeman and Other Poems," by Ellen Glasgow; J. P. Kennedy & Sons for selections from Poems by Father Ryan; and Harper Brothers for selections from Song by Mary Car- rington Coles. LIBRARY Of CONGRESS Two CoBies Received MAY 271909 ha* Copyriitnt tntrv J CLAS/f A kxc No ^ V 5 5 *] 'copy a. ' cA YEARj, BOOK ^ SOUTHERN POETS January first Toss your green plumes, ye pine-covered mountains, Revel in gladness, thou beautiful earth ; Sprinkle your silver, ye bright rippling fountains, A year from the midnight has taken its birth. Carter W. Wormeley {"Hymn to the New Year"). January second Oh ! bright New Year, with snow-white train, Oh ! glad New Year, you've come again : Covering the earth, its every stain. With snow-white train from mount to main — May good live on in you, The beautiful and true ! Margaret I. Weber {"The Old and the New"). [3] January third A wind moved through the night On wings that shiver — On icy wings through pearly chill moonlight, Beyond the stars that glisten weirdly bright, Away forever. On icy wings that shed the downy snows The spirit flees, Bearing away to the vale where Lethe flows The vanished year red with a myriad woes. Leaving us peace. And unto Thee, whose love will bid the snows To melt, and cleanse the earth of gore, O Prince of Peace, we pray that Sharon's rose May in the valleys of our hearts repose Untrampled evermore. /• H. Booton ("New Year Nocturne"). [4] Southerrv Poets January fourth What will I care for the unshared sigh, If, in my fear of lapse or fall. Close I have clung to Christ through all, Mindless how rough the road might lie. Sure He will smoothen it by-and-by. Margaret J. Preston {"By-and-By"). January fifth Thou in the Mystic Hours, will see the Veil Rent, and the solemn beauty that appears, Eternity, so idle with her years. The ancient loveliness that grows not pale. A. U. Rutledge (''The Solace of the Hours"). [5] (iA YesiV Book, gf January sixth The robin laughed in the orange tree : Ho, windy North, a fig for thee: While breasts are red and wings are bold And green trees wave us globes of gold, Time's scythe shall reap but bliss for me — Sunlight, song, and the orange tree. Sidney Lanier ("Tampa Robins"). January seventh Around me, on the battle fields of life, I see men fight and fail and crouch in prayer; Aloft I stand unfettered, for I know The freedom of despair. Ellen Qlasgoxo ("The Freeman"). January eighth For I know not why, when I tell my thought, It seems as though I fling it away; And the charm wherewith a fancy is fraught, When secret, dies with the fleeting lay Into which it is wrought- Henry Timrod ("Why Silent"), [6] Southern; Poets January ninth And I saw night Digging the grave of day ; And day took off her golden crown, And flung it sorrowfully down. Father Ryan (^"Reverie"). January tenth So on I press up that steep slope Behind whose brow that sun is setting; I walk with Faith and not with Hope, Despairing not and not forgetting. Barton Gray {"The Crown Unwon"). January eleventh In dreams, in dreams we part not. The day dawn and the morrow May take you ; but each morning with the dreamer's vision gleams. You are mine when night recalls you, with your young heart free from sorrow, In dreams. Armistead C. Gordon {"In Dreams"). m oAYesLV Book §f January twelfth One heaven above ; But many a heaven below The dewdrops show — God's tenderness Subdued in every teardrop to express The whole of Love. John B. Tabb {"All in All"). January thirteenth I place my hand upon my cheek — And sitting thus, whole hours, all mute, Feeding on thoughts too rich to speak, I hear the ever rushing wings Of the many cloudy things Which are my brain's imaginings. Philip P. Cooke ("Lines"). [8] Southern; Poets January fourteenth The hills ! We love the hills. Their heads are nearest Heaven, Their sides to morn and even ! There is a joy that fills Their anthem to the day There is a peace that fills The requiem of hills To the light that dies away. 'Tis more than song or wine To see their summits shine, Through twilight's purple wine, Like islands of the blest, In the ocean of their rest. Frank O. Ticknor {"The Hills"). January fifteenth The chosen spirit on its forward march, Armed with just courage that makes great its cause, Stands mightier than the force of common laws. And grows beneath the heaven's dread favoring arch. Into an eminent statue like a God. William O. Simms ("Hannibal"). [9] qA Year Book §f January sixteenth Across insensate space, where'er thou art, My being's current sets, and swiftly flies, Fond impulse of my inmost soul and heart — Thou'lt know, e'en beyond the seas and skies. Annah B. Watson ("Telepathy"). January seventeenth From the last kiss of the sun upon the mountains. From the far spaces where the wings of night unfurl, Stream up the skies like the gleam of many fountains Sprayings of jasper and amethyst and pearl Until far up they blend into one golden Sea, past whose waters if a man once trod. He should see surely splendors but beholden Only in the city of the Saints of God. James Lindsay Gordon {"A Virginia Sunset"). [10] Southern; Poets January eighteenth Hark ! to mine a voice is calling, Sweet as tropic winds at night, Gently dying, faintly falling, From some marvelous mystic height, Troubled thought's unhallowed riot By its wandering glamor kissed, Feels a charm of sacred quiet Fold it like enchanted mist. Paul H. Hayne {"The Realm of Bliss"), January nineteenth Truth walked beside him always. From his childhood's early years. Honor followed as his shadow, Valor lightened all his cares: And he rode — that grand Virginian — Last of all the Cavaliers ! James B. Hope ("The Lee Memorial Ode"). [11] qA Year Book gf January twentieth He had shpped from the paths of duty In the dewy bright Hght of the mom ; He had culled him the primrose of beauty To embed in his bosom a thorn. And his dawning came on with a sadness, And his morning lay shadowed in blame, For the birthright of sorrow is madness. And the wage of the sinner is shame. Carter W. Wormeley {"Waters of Marah"). January twenty-first And all was calm and still again, So still — the place might seem to be The grave of sound. Anon {"The Fountain of Oblivion"), [12] Souther rb Poets January twenty-second Brave and self-centered in the peace of God Is that true soul who calmly dares withstand The cruel frenzy of the populace, And in the hot red mouths of hostile guns, And in the shining teeth of million swords. And in the scornful faces of fierce men, Lifts high in hand the heaven-bright cross of Christ, And meekly pleads for brotherhood and love. William H. Uolcombe {"The Peacemaker"), January twenty-third Yes ! what is childhood But after all a sort of golden daylight, A beautiful and blessed wealth of sunshine. Henry Tim,rod ("Dramatic Fragment"). [13] qA Year Book §f January twenty-fourth He dwelt in clear white purity apart, Yet walked the world ; through many a sufferer's door He shone like morning; comfort streamed before His footsteps ; on the feeble and the poor He lavished the rich spikenard of his heart. Paul H. Hayne ("On the Death of Canon Kingsley"). January twenty-fifth Teach us to pray ! for oh ! the earth-born soul Knows little of its needs ; and the grand goal To which we know life hastes seems far away; And in the journey, stumbling day by day, We need our Father's guidance to control, Robert Whittet ("A Rondeau"). [14] Southerrv Poeta January twenty-sixth Youth, thou shalt sip at my brimming bowl ! The glances of beauty shall gladden thy soul! Where the roses bloom shall thy pathway be, And my smile shall enliven thy revelry ; But mark me, youth ! when thy days are o'er The favor of Pleasure shall greet thee no more. Thomas Semmes {"The Song of Pleasure"). January twenty-seventh The fire-fly lights the night A moment and then dies ; The lilacs pine for light. With sweet and odorous sighs : So Hope's deceitful beam Illumines my despair, While still I sigh and dream. With many a sobbing prayer, Lady, lady, list ! List and smile ! James A. Bartley {"Serenade"). [15] c4 "Year Book sf January twenty-eighth We know, O Lord, so little what is best. Wingless, we move so lowly. But in Thy calm all-knowledge let us rest — Oh, holy, holy, holy — John C. McNeill ("Sundown"). January twenty-ninth Away with thee, Light ! thou "effluence bright !" Make room for my ebon car. When it wheels on its track with its hangings of black, I curtain the Moon and the Star : I love to go forth, with the storms of the North, To follow the hurricane's sweep, When the ships mounting high, ride up to the sky! Then down to the fathomless deep. Carter Landon ("Darkness"). [16] Southerrb Poets January thirtieth Like serf beneath a king, Under the weight of woman's tyranny I bow! Arion. {"The Surrender"). January thirty-first My Mother, when of thee I think, or speak, So perfect is my love. The energy of language is too weak. Its wondrous height and depth to fully prove, — Words fail as dies the taper in the blast ; 'Tis known to Him above. With whom we hope to live when death's dark gulf is past. Mary O. Buchanan ("To My Mother"). [17] cA Year Book ^ February first In truth that falsehood cannot span, In the majestic march of Laws, That weed and flower and worm and man Result from one Supernal Cause, In doubts that dare and faiths that cleave. Lord, I believe. Ellen Glasgow {"A Creed"). February second The God who gave To the birds the virgin-wings of snow Somehow telleth them the way they go. Father By an {"Sea Dr earnings"). [18] Southern; Poets February third As sometimes from the meanest spot of earth A sudden beauty unexpected starts, So you shall find some germ of hidden worth Within the vilest hearts. Henry Timrod {"Address"). February fourth And inasmuch as thou hast brought Thy draught of water, deemed so small ; And inasmuch as at my call Thou didst the work thou hadst not sought, — As double deeds, wrought and unwrought, I needing none, accept them all. Margaret J. Preston {"Inasmuch"). [19] cA Year Book. §f February fifth The dark hath many dear avails ; The dark distils divinest dews ; The dark Is rich with nightingales, With dreams and with the heavenly Muse. Sidney Lanier {"Opposition"). February sixth I can't allow my picture took De way you wants to draw — A-leavin' off my freedom-look For fashion 'fore the war. No, Lord! my picture can't be caught By man wid no sich manners ; Dat's 'zactly why de war was fought — To end dem same bandannas ! Howard Weeden {"Aunt Judy and the Painter"). [20] Southern; Poets February seventh In our aim Lies all the difference betwixt pride and shame. William O. Simms {"Sonnet"). February eighth There is little in life but labor, And to-morrow may find that a dream ; Success is the bride of Endeavor, And luck — but a meteor's gleam. /. Trotwood Moore ("Success"). February ninth And ever sweet thoughts without words The shadow of old memories, Rise up and float away as birds Float down the skies. Carlyle McKinley ("Sapelo"). [21] c4 Year Book gf February tenth 'Tis a pleasant thought at eventide, When a glory looks down on our prayers, That we have not mocked in the days of our pride The meanest pilgrim whose dust may hide "An angel unawares !" And a beautiful hope, as the night unrolls Her raiment of rest serene, That we are nearer the beautiful souls That our souls have never seen. Prank O. Ticknor {"In Mamre"). February eleventh What myriad millions of the human race, Formed in the mould and likeness of their God, Live like the soulless rocks beneath their feet. Hu Maxwell {"The Sea-Oirt Isle"). [22] Southern; Poets February twelfth It's O, for the music of lark and thrush And the wandering waters' flow, — It's O, for the shaded summer lanes Where the sweet shy violets grow! My heart is yearning to find again The ways that my boyhood trod ; To know just a little less of men, And a little more of God. James Lindsay Oordon (^"Longing"). February thirteenth All that thou art not makes not up the sum Of what thou art, beloved, unto me: All other voices, wanting thine, are dumb; All visions in thine absence, vacancy. John B. Tabb {"A Remonstrance"). [23] cA Year Book ^ February fourteenth 'TIs wooing time! I listen, With ear to the sensitive mould To learn if his coming footsteps The earth to the moss hath told. 'Tis loving time ! I am waiting ; There's a spell in the air like wine — All ! heart a herald is crying "He cometh — thy valentine !" Annah B. Watson ("Wooing Time"). February fifteenth Perhaps in us the darkness lies That seems to veil the world without ; Perhaps our evils cause our doubts, And false opinions blind our eyes. William H. Holcombe ("Perhaps in Us"). [24] Southerrv Poets February sixteenth Contented with Httle, suspicious of riches, He jingled the very small coin in his breeches, And squandered his substance 'gainst precept and rule With the heart of a king and the brains of a fool. Carter W. Wormeley {"Lines to an Intimate Friend"). February seventeenth Month after month I followed my quest. A bud from her bosom, a smile from her lips. Would fill my heart with a vague unrest, — Or a touch of her finger-tips ; Yet no matter the time, no matter the place. Where roses blossomed, where leaves turned yellow. She'd leave me alone with a smile on her face At a word from that other fellow. Armistead C. Gordon ("Toujours Jamais"). [25] oAYesirBooVisf February eighteenth Forget thee? No never! the ocean may cease Its wild beating dirges, and roll on in peace ; The winds hush their murmurs, the stars cease to shine. The jewel to sparkle when struck from the mine. John C. McCabe {"Forget Thee? No Never!"). February nineteenth A murmur from the sea, A faint and dying strain. Takes, as the night-winds flee, Their parting moan again ; And the twin voices link Their pinions from the shore. Flutter with plaining on the brink Then on the sands subside, and sink To sleep once more ! William O. Simms ("Night Scene — How Still is Nature Now!") [26] Southern; Poets February twentieth Resigned, O Lord! we cannot all forget That there is much even Victory must regret. Henry Timrod ("The Cotton Boll"). February twenty-first God and our consciences alone Give us measure of right and wrong; The race may fall unto the swift And the battle to the strong: But the truth will shine in history And blossom into song. James B. Hope {"The Lee Memorial Ode"). [27] c4 YesiV Book gf February twenty-second Bright natal morn ! what face appears Beyond the rolling mist of years? — A face whose loftiest traits combine All virtues of a stainless line Passed from leal sire to loyal son ; The face of him whose steadfast zeal Drew harmonies of law and right From chaos and anarchistic night: Wrought from rude hoards of turbulent states The grandeur of our commonweal: All hail ! all hail ! to Washington ! Paul H. Hayne {"Washington"). February twenty-third Then I said to myself in my sleep, How lovely is all that I see ! I shall never have reason to weep, For the world is a garden to me. But an angel came down from the skies, And claimed me at once as her own ; Fair truth shed her light on my eyes. And the shades of Illusion are flown. William Maxwell {"The Revery"). [28] Southerrv Poets February twenty-fourth 'Tis not the clashing of storm-clouds That opes the sweets of the flower, But the silent strength of the sunbeam That blossoms in wealth the bower; The fervor and force of true manhood Will make the many to quail, And sympathy Of great degree Will win, where fury will fail. Josie F. Cappleman ("The Strongest Bond of AH"). February twenty-fifth There was but one I ever wished to guide Over the chasm or up the mountain side. And pipe to on the meadows green and wide, From shady nook. Oh, Thou Good Shepherd ! seek her in the path That many a pitfall, many a sorrow hath ; On her bewildered head let not Thy wrath Eternal break. James Lane Allen ("The Wanderer"). [29] cA Year Book gf February twenty-sixth Oh ! may thy hf e be ever bright, As aught my early dreams have framed, And not a shadow dim its light. Till heaven, in mercy, shall have claim'd Thee, as a being fit for naught That earth can boast, all sorrow-fraught As are its brightest visions. May Thy life be one long dream of love, Unbroken 'till the final day, When heaven shall waft thy soul above, And crown thee, as an angel there. Who wast indeed an angel here. A. B. Meek {"To a Yo^mg Lady"). February twenty-seventh In Faith's clear firmament afar — To Unbelief a stranger — Forever glows the golden star That stood above the manger. Theophilus H. Hill {"The Star Above the Manger"). [30] Souther rv Poets February twenty-eighth Oh ! Love is like a river-flood, That rolls and pauses never — An ocean-tide that bears us on Forever and forever. James A. Bartley {"Love"). March first The winds are loud and trumpet clear to-day ; They seem to sound an onset half in ire, Half in the wildness of a vague desire To force spring's fairy vanguards to delay ; For here methinks worn winter stands at bay — Yet stands how vainly ! springtime's subtlest fire Melts his cold heart to nothingness, while nigher Draw April's hosts, and rearward powers of May. Paul H. Hayne {"Sonnet"). [31] cAYeeirBodkef March second There's beauty in the morning's blush That scatters mist and gloom; There's beauty in the soft pale light Of the silvery summer moon ; Yet doth the sympathizing heart A dearer light to life impart. Anna Venable Koiner {"Soul Beauty"). March third The man with little love shall find But little loving in mankind. Frank O. Ticknor ("Diogenes"). March fourth Out of night-lands, a wind Awakens a wave: — spent are the tranquil charms, Yet the dim stars are driven till they find Rest in each other's arms. A. H. Rutledge ("Shadow-Stars"). [32] Southerrv Poeta March fifth Do you know the land, the fairest land In the mythical realm of old? Where the earth and the air, and the flowers rare All sleep 'neath a sun of gold? Where the elf king's bugle in winding note Drowns the dreamy drum in the black bee's throat, And the fairy queen floats in a peach-bloom boat? And the fireflies dance where the lily maids meet And the flowers are dreams that lie at your feet In the summer of Long Ago. John Trotwood Moore ("In the Summer of Long Ago"). March sixth And sweeping onward through the dark, Bursts like a call the night-wind from the woods ! Low bow the flowers, the trees fling loose their dreams, And through the waving roof a fresher moonlight streams. Henry Timrod {"A Vision of Poesy"). [33] oAYear Book^ March seventh Give Fancy freedom, freedom to-night ! Let her soar up in the face of the stars ! What's the soul-virtue, if never, in flight, We fling off^ our sense of the earth with its bars? The spirit that cHngs to its fetters of clay, Whose eyes never lift in a prayer for a wing. Hath no pinions of soul which shall bear it away To that realm of delight. Which is born of the flight, Where the very soul-soaring compels it to sing. William G. Simms {"Volans Video"). March eighth I hear the surf beat on the sands. And murmurous voices from the sea ; The wanton waves toss their white hands And beckon me. Carlyle McKinley {"Sapelo"). [34] Souther rv Poets March ninth We now can see the dawn of better days : Look at the South from shore to shore, Her night of darkness almost gone. The master, who the thraldom felt far more Than slave, is now more free than e'er before. Untrammeled men and women will aspire. With minds and hearts and souls set free, To soar to heights unknown, and ardently desire, With every height attained, the strength to go still higher. Margaret I. Weber ("Lines"). March tenth Long ago, when life was younger, and life's burden cast no shadow, When the gladness of existence had a summer foun- tain's flow. Side by side we trod dim woodlands, river bank, or haunted meadow. Long ago. Armistead C. Gordon {"Long Ago"). [35] o4^ar Book