| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1333. Fate |
| | | By Susan Marr Spalding |
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| TWO shall be born the whole wide world apart; | |
| And speak in different tongues, and have no thought | |
| Each of the other’s being, and no heed; | |
| And these o’er unknown seas to unknown lands | |
| Shall cross, escaping wreck, defying death, | 5 |
| And all unconsciously shape every act | |
| And bend each wandering step to this one end,— | |
| That, one day, out of darkness, they shall meet | |
| And read life’s meaning in each other’s eyes. | |
| And two shall walk some narrow way of life | 10 |
| So nearly side by side, that should one turn | |
| Ever so little space to left or right | |
| They needs must stand acknowledged face to face. | |
| And yet, with wistful eyes that never meet, | |
| With groping hands that never clasp, and lips | 15 |
| Calling in vain to ears that never hear, | |
| They seek each other all their weary days | |
| And die unsatisfied—and this is Fate! | |
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