Page:The Romance of Nature; or, The Flower-Seasons Illustrated.djvu/69

23 I know thou art oft

Passed carelessly by,

And the hue so soft

Of thine azure eye

Gleams unseen, unsought, in its leafy bower,

While the heartless prefer some statelier flower

That they eagerly cull, and, when faded, fling

Away with rude hand, as a worthless thing.

Not such is thy fate: not thy beauty's gift

Alone bids thee from thy bower be reft;

Not thy half-closing, dewy, and deep blue eye;

But the charm that doth not with beauty die.

'Tis thy mild, soft fragrance makes thee so dear,

Thou loveliest gem of the floral year!

And with joy, sweet flower,

I welcome thee here,

While dark clouds lour,

And winds sound drear.

The Christmas wreath hath entwined my brow,

But the Violet smiles in that chaplet now.

Sweet wanderer!—gladly I greet thy form

'Mid the loud shrill blast and the wintry storm.

Thou callest up visions of happier times—

Thou tellest of sunnier southern climes—

Thou paintest bright pictures to memory's eye,

Of bliss-fraught hours for ever gone by—