| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 850. When the Most Is Said |
| | | By Mary Ainge De Vere (“Madeline Bridges”) |
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| WHAT ’S love, when the most is said? The flash of the lightning fleet, | |
| Then, darkness that shrouds the soul,—but the earth is firm to my feet; | |
| The rocks and the tides endure, the grasses and herbs return, | |
| The path to my foot is sure, and the sods to my bosom yearn. | |
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| What ’s fame, when the truth is told? A shout to a distant hill, | 5 |
| The craigs may echo a while, but fainter, and fainter still; | |
| Yet forever the wind blows wide the sweetness of all the skies, | |
| The rain cries and the snow flies, and the storm in its bosom lies. | |
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| What ’s life, what ’s life, little heart? A dream when the nights are long, | |
| Toil in the waking days,—tears, and a kiss, a song. | 10 |
| What ’s life, what ’s life, little heart? To beat and be glad of breath | |
| While death waits on either side,—before and behind us, Death! | |
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