I roved in the meadows, the vales, and the bowers, While the leaves were bespangled with dew; And I culled in profusion the blossoms and flowers, Excelling in fragrance and hue. The primrose of spring in the wreath I combined, And the violet modest and pale; And there the wild roses and myrtles entwined, With the lily which droops in the vale. The harebell that smiles in the dingle I sought, Of the softest ethereal blue; And then to Celinda the garland I brought, While the buds were all shining in dew. "Oh! take the sweet flowers in their beauty,"I said, "While yet they are lovely and gay; "For soon, my Celinda, their bloom will be fled, "Too early they wither away. "This lily so gracefully languid and fair, "Might have faded unseen in the grove; "Yet the balm of its odour was borne on the air, "And it weeps in the wreath of my love. To you, my Celinda, the rose-bud I bring, "While its leaves are begemmed with the dew, "'Tis the darling of Flora, the treasure of spring; "How lovely an emblem of you. "But oh! when the roses of beauty and youth, "Like the bloom of the flower shall decay; "The myrtle of love and perennial truth, "Shall be smiling and fresh as in May." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VERSES FROM THE GRANDE CHARTREUSE by MATTHEW ARNOLD THE BALLAD OF WILLIAM SYCAMORE (1790-1880) by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET NEVER TOO LATE: THE PALMER'S ODE by ROBERT GREENE EASTER WINGS by GEORGE HERBERT NO COMING TO GOD WITHOUT CHRIST by ROBERT HERRICK |