FAIR are the bells of this bright-flowering weed; Nectar and pollen treasuries, where grope Innocent thieves; the Poet lets them ope And bloom, and wither, leaving fruit and seed To ripen; but the Botanist will speed To win the secret of the blossom's hope, And with his cruel knife and microscope Reveal the embryo life, too early freed. Yet the mild Poet can be ruthless too, Crushing the tender leaves to work a spell Of love or fame; the record of the bud He will not seek, but only bids it tell His thoughts, and render up its deepest hue To tinge his verse as with his own heart's blood. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A SONG OF COURAGE by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON TO THE MEMORY OF INEZ MILHOLLAND by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON DOWN BY THE CARIB SEA: 6. SUNSET IN THE TROPICS by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON O GLORIOUS FRANCE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS CAPUT MORTUUM by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON |