| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1171. Winter Sleep |
| | | By Edith Matilda Thomas |
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| I KNOW it must be winter (though I sleep)— | |
| I know it must be winter, for I dream | |
| I dip my bare feet in the running stream, | |
| And flowers are many, and the grass grows deep. | |
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| I know I must be old (how age deceives!)— | 5 |
| I know I must be old, for, all unseen, | |
| My heart grows young, as autumn fields grow green, | |
| When late rains patter on the falling sheaves. | |
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| I know I must be tired (and tired souls err)— | |
| I know I must be tired, for all my soul | 10 |
| To deeds of daring beats a glad, faint roll, | |
| As storms the riven pine to music stir. | |
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| I know I must be dying (Death draws near)— | |
| I know I must be dying, for I crave | |
| Life—life, strong life, and think not of the grave, | 15 |
| And turf-bound silence, in the frosty year. | |
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