| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 673. The Watch of a Swan |
| | | By Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt |
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| I READ somewhere that a swan, snow-white, | |
| In the sun all day, in the moon all night, | |
| Alone by a little grave would sit | |
| Waiting, and watching it. | |
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| Up out of the lake her mate would rise, | 5 |
| And call her down with his piteous cries | |
| Into the waters still and dim:— | |
| With cries she would answer him. | |
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| Hardly a shadow would she let pass | |
| Over the baby’s cover of grass; | 10 |
| Only the wind might dare to stir | |
| The lily that watched with her. | |
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| Do I think that the swan was an angel? Oh, | |
| I think it was only a swan, you know, | |
| That for some sweet reason, wingëd and wild, | 15 |
| Had the love of a bird for a child. | |
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