| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
| |
| 1271. To an Obscure Poet Who Lives on My Hearth |
| | | By Charles Lotin Hildreth |
| |
| |
| WHY shouldst thou cease thy plaintive song | |
| When I draw near? | |
| Has mankind done thee any wrong, | |
| That thou shouldst fear? | |
| |
| To see thee scampering to thy den, | 5 |
| So wild and shy, | |
| ’T would seem thou know’st the ways of men | |
| As well as I. | |
| |
| ’T is true the palmy days are o’er | |
| When all thy kind— | 10 |
| Poor minstrel folk—at every door | |
| Might welcome find; | |
| |
| For song was certain password then | |
| To every breast, | |
| And current coin that bought from men | 15 |
| Food, fire, and rest; | |
| |
| And these are more discerning days, | |
| More coldly just: | |
| I doubt thy rustic virelays | |
| Would earn a crust. | 20 |
| |
| The age is shrill and choral-like; | |
| For many sing, | |
| And he who would be heard must strike | |
| Life’s loudest string. | |
| |
| And thou, poor minstrel of the field, | 25 |
| With slender tone, | |
| Art type of many a singer sealed | |
| To die unknown. | |
| |
| And many a heart that would have sung | |
| Songs sweet to hear, | 30 |
| Could passion give itself a tongue | |
| To catch the ear. | |
| |
| But, cricket, thou shouldst trust in me, | |
| For thou and I | |
| Are brothers in adversity,— | 35 |
| Both poor and shy. | |
| |
| And since the height of thy desire | |
| Is but to live, | |
| Thy little share of food and fire | |
| I freely give. | 40 |
| |
| And thou shalt sing of fields and hills | |
| And forest streams, | |
| Till thy rapt invocation stills | |
| My troubled dreams. | |
| |
|
|
|
