Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Laura ElizabethRichards

1031 Where Helen Sits

WHERE Helen sits, the darkness is so deep,

No golden sunbeam strikes athwart the gloom;

No mother’s smile, no glance of loving eyes,

Lightens the shadow of that lonely room.

Yet the clear whiteness of her radiant soul

Decks the dim walls, like angel vestments shed.

The lovely light of holy innocence

Shines like a halo round her bended head,

Where Helen sits.

Where Helen sits, the stillness is so deep,

No children’s laughter comes, no song of bird.

The great world storms along its noisy way,

But in this place no sound is ever heard.

Yet do her gentle thoughts make melody

Sweeter than aught from harp or viol flung;

And Love and Beauty, quiring each to each,

Sing as the stars of Eden’s morning sung,

Where Helen sits.