ONCE saw I many a blooming flower Upon my way, but slothfully Stoop'd not to pluck them in that hour, And on my proud steed hasten'd by. Now when I'm near to death, and languish, Now when beneath me yawns the tomb, Oft in my thought, with bitter anguish, Returns the' unheeded flowers' perfume. But most of all, my brain is burning With a bright yellow violet fair; Wild beauty! How I grieve with yearning, To think that I enjoy'd thee ne'er! My comfort is: Oblivion's waters Have not yet lost their olden might The dull hearts of earth's sons and daughters To steep in Lethe's blissful night. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A LETTER FROM ITALY by JOSEPH ADDISON FLUSH OR FAUNUS by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING SONNETS ATTEMPTED IN THE MANNER OF CONTEMPORARY WRITERS: 3 by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE THE SOCIETY UPON THE STANISLAUS by FRANCIS BRET HARTE MEZZO CAMMIN by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW |