| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1413. A Common Inference |
| | | By Charlotte Perkins Stetson |
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| A NIGHT: mysterious, tender, quiet, deep; | |
| Heavy with flowers; full of life asleep; | |
| Thrilling with insect voices; thick with stars; | |
| No cloud between the dewdrops and red Mars; | |
| The small earth whirling softly on her way, | 5 |
| The moonbeams and the waterfalls at play; | |
| A million million worlds that move in peace, | |
| A million mighty laws that never cease; | |
| And one small ant-heap, hidden by small weeds, | |
| Rich with eggs, slaves, and store of millet seeds. | 10 |
| They sleep beneath the sod | |
| And trust in God. | |
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| A day: all glorious, royal, blazing bright; | |
| Heavy with flowers; full of life and light; | |
| Great fields of corn and sunshine; courteous trees; | 15 |
| Snow-sainted mountains; earth-embracing seas; | |
| Wide golden deserts; slender silver streams; | |
| Clear rainbows where the tossing fountain gleams; | |
| And everywhere, in happiness and peace, | |
| A million forms of life that never cease; | 20 |
| And one small ant-heap, crushed by passing tread, | |
| Hath scarce enough alive to mourn the dead! | |
| They shriek beneath the sod, | |
| “There is no God!” | |
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