| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 427. Mercedes |
| | | By Elizabeth Stoddard |
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| UNDER a sultry, yellow sky, | |
| On the yellow sand I lie; | |
| The crinkled vapors smite my brain, | |
| I smoulder in a fiery pain. | |
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| Above the crags the condor flies; | 5 |
| He knows where the red gold lies, | |
| He knows where the diamonds shine;— | |
| If I knew, would she be mine? | |
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| Mercedes in her hammock swings; | |
| In her court a palm-tree flings | 10 |
| Its slender shadow on the ground, | |
| The fountain falls with silver sound. | |
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| Her lips are like this cactus cup; | |
| With my hand I crush it up; | |
| I tear its flaming leaves apart;— | 15 |
| Would that I could tear her heart! | |
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| Last night a man was at her gate; | |
| In the hedge I lay in wait; | |
| I saw Mercedes meet him there, | |
| By the fireflies in her hair. | 20 |
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| I waited till the break of day, | |
| Then I rose and stole away; | |
| But left my dagger in the gate;— | |
| Now she knows her lover’s fate! | |
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