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

By John HallIngham

1379 A Summer Sanctuary

I FOUND a yellow flower in the grass,

A tiny flower with petals like a bell,

And yet, methought, more than a flower it was,—

More like a miracle.

Above, the sky was clear, save where at times

Soft-tinted fleeces drifted dreamily,

Bearing a benison to sunny climes

From altars of the sea.

In vestments green the pines about me gleamed

Like priests that tend the sacrificial fire;

And the faint-lowing cattle almost seemed

Some far intoning choir.

It was a place and an occasion meet

For some high, solemn wonder to befall;

And, when I saw the flower at my feet,

I understood it all.