Page:Romance of the Rose (Ellis), volume 1.pdf/247

Rh

And blooms and verdure die, as they

Draw nigh unto their burgeoning day.

This rock doth bear a fearsome wood

Of Strange-grown trees, both bad and good.

Sterile is one from crown to root,

Another beareth wholesome fruit;

The one puts forth fair branches green,

Another void of leaves is seen;

This showeth blossoms passing fair,

That stands of bud or promise bare.

And while this flourisheth on high,

That other withereth barrenly.

If one towards heaven doth raise its head,

Another seeks the earth’s cold bed.

When buds on one show strong and hale,

Those on its fellow shrink and fail.

The broom shoots upwards, giant high,

While pine and cedar lowly lie

Along the earth; shrub, tree, and plant

Their natures change in this strange haunt,

With variance wide. To dusky grey

The verdant laurel fades away,

Its brightness lost. The olive tree,

So famed for rich fecundity,

Stands barren there. The sterile elm

The gracious vine doth overwhelm

And win her fruit. The willow, bare

Erewhile of berries, giveth there

Fair foison.

Nightingales forsake

Their tunefulness, but screech-owls break