| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
| |
| 544. Poppies in the Wheat |
| | | By Helen Fiske Jackson (“H. H.”) |
| |
| |
| ALONG Ancona’s hills the shimmering heat, | |
| A tropic tide of air, with ebb and flow | |
| Bathes all the fields of wheat until they glow | |
| Like flashing seas of green, which toss and beat | |
| Around the vines. The poppies lithe and fleet | 5 |
| Seem running, fiery torchmen, to and fro | |
| To mark the shore. The farmer does not know | |
| That they are there. He walks with heavy feet, | |
| Counting the bread and wine by autumn’s gain, | |
| But I,—I smile to think that days remain | 10 |
| Perhaps to me in which, though bread be sweet | |
| No more, and red wine warm my blood in vain, | |
| I shall be glad remembering how the fleet, | |
| Lithe poppies ran like torchmen with the wheat. | |
| |
|
|
|
