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

By Samuel WilloughbyDuffield

875 Two of a Trade

THE DRAGON-FLY and I together

Sail up the stream in the summer weather;

He at the stern all green and gold,

And I at the oars, our course to hold.

Above the floor of the level river

The bent blades dip and spring and quiver;

And the dragon-fly is here and there,

Along the water and in the air.

And thus we go as the sunshine mellows;

A pair of Nature’s merriest fellows;

For the Spanish cedar is light and true,

And instead of one, it has carried two.

And thus we sail without care or sorrow,

With trust for to-day and hope for to-morrow;

He at the stern, all green and gold,

And I at the oars, our course to hold.