Charles Warren Stoddard

Charles Warren Stoddard (7 August 1843 – 23 April 1909) was an American author and editor best known for his travel books about Polynesian life.

One Life

 * UPON the woven leaf, Upon the veined flower, I find my life portrayed in bief– My life from hour to hour. A frail leaf fit to die; The faithful air of heaven by, While no wind roughly blew. All day for my delight, From dark to dark my own; One butterfly delaying flight, That left me not alone. A humming-bird to float Upon a breath; a bee To blow a long complaining note, Invited were of me.
 * Poems of Charles Warren Stoddard, edited by Ina Coolbrith (1917), p. 29