| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
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| Mother Wept |
| | | Joseph Skipsey (b. 1832) |
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| MOTHER wept, and father sigh’d; | |
| With delight a-glow | |
| Cried the lad, “To-morrow,” cried, | |
| “To the pit I go.” | |
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| Up and down the place he sped, | 5 |
| Greeted old and young, | |
| Far and wide the tidings spread, | |
| Clapp’d his hands and sung. | |
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| Came his cronies, some to gaze | |
| Rapt in wonder; some | 10 |
| Free with counsel; some with praise; | |
| Some with envy dumb. | |
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| “May he,” many a gossip cried, | |
| “Be from peril kept;” | |
| Father hid his face and sighed, | 15 |
| Mother turned and wept. | |
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