| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1050. The Sunrise of the Poor |
| | | By Robert Burns Wilson |
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| A DARKENED hut outlined against the sky, | |
| A forward-looking slope,—some cedar trees, | |
| Gaunt grasses stirred by the awaking breeze, | |
| And nearer, where the grayer shadows lie, | |
| Within a small paled square, one may descry | 5 |
| The beds wherein the Poor first taste of ease, | |
| Where dewy rose-vines drop their spicy lees | |
| Above the dreamless ashes, silently. | |
| A lonely woman leans there,—bent and gray: | |
| Outlined in part against the shadowed hill, | 10 |
| In part against the sky, in which the day | |
| Begins to blaze. O earth, so sweet,—so still!— | |
| The woman sighs, and draws a long, deep breath: | |
| It is the call to labor,—not to death. | |
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