THE LEGEND OF THE PASQUE FLOWER by R. ALICE FIKSDAL

There's a legend as old as the calendar year,
That I would tell you, my children dear,
Of a Paschal eve and a Paschal morn
When first the Pasque flower fair was born:

Long, long ago, on a Paschal eve,
By Cherubim, the sacred shreve,
Sweet Mother Mary's tears were found—
Like gleaming dew upon the ground—
Before the Holy Sepulchre;
And reverencing the grief of Her,
He lifted high his gleaming sword,
And blessed with sanctificial word
Each of the Virgin's holy tears,
And charged them: "Live through all the years
As harbingers of every spring,
The resurrection joy to bring."

He touched them gently, bade them rise,
And turn their faces to the skies.
Lo! on the Rich Man's barren cru
Were grown a thousand blossoms new!
And so, at Paschal tide each year,
Up through the tangled grasses sere,
The modest little flowers peep
From out the frozen ground, to keep
The Holy Easter-tide with all
Who heed the Season's clarion call.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...