A LILY thou wast when I saw thee first, A lily-bud not opened quite, That hourly grew more pure and white, By morning, and noontide, and evening nursed: In all of nature thou hadst thy share; Thou wast waited on By the wind and sun; The rain and the dew for thee took care; It seemed thou never couldst be more fair. A lily thou wast when I saw thee first, A lily-bud; but O, how strange, How full of wonder was the change, When, ripe with all sweetness, thy full bloom burst! How did the tears to my glad eyes start, When the woman-flower Reached its blossoming hour, And I saw the warm deeps of thy golden heart! Glad death may pluck thee, but never before The gold dust of thy bloom divine Hath dropped from thy heart into mine, To quicken its faint germs of heavenly lore; for no breeze comes nigh thee but carries away Some impulses bright Of fragrance and light, Which fall upon souls that are lone and astray, To plant fruitful hopes of the flower of day. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SAGA OF THE SMALL-BREASTED WOMAN by KAREN SWENSON BALLAD OF THE LORDS OF OLD TIME by FRANCOIS VILLON AFTER THE BATTLE (OF AUGHRIM) by THOMAS MOORE THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 74. ST. LUKE THE PAINTER (OLD & NEW ART) by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI IDYLLS OF THE KING: THE HOLY GRAIL by ALFRED TENNYSON LILIES: 24 by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) THE LITTLE KNIGHT IN GREEN by KATHARINE LEE BATES |