| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 647. A Spray of Honeysuckle |
| | | By Mary Emily Bradley |
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| I BROKE one day a slender stem, | |
| Thick-set with little golden horns, | |
| Half bud, half blossom, and a gem— | |
| Such as one finds in autumn morns | |
| When all the grass with dew is strung— | 5 |
| On every fairy bugle hung. | |
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| Careless, I dropped it, in a place | |
| Where no light shone, and so forgot | |
| Its delicate, dewy, flowering grace, | |
| Till presently from the dark spot | 10 |
| A charming sense of sweetness came, | |
| That woke an answering sense of shame. | |
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| Quickly I thought, O heart of mine, | |
| A lesson for thee plain to read: | |
| Thou needest not that light should shine, | 15 |
| Or fellow-men thy virtues heed: | |
| Enough—if haply this be so— | |
| That thou hast sweetness to bestow! | |
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