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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


FIRE_FLOWERS by EMILY PAULINE JOHNSON

First Line: AND ONLY WHERE THE FOREST FIRES HAVE SPED
Last Line: AND LIFE REVIVES, AND BLOSSOMS ONCE AGAIN.
Subject(s): FIRE; FORESTS; NATURE; SURVIVAL; WOODS;

AND only where the forest fires have sped,
Scorching relentlessly the cool north lands,
A sweet wild flower lifts its purple head,
And, like some gentle spirit sorrow-fed,
It hides the scars with almost human hands.

And only to the heart that knows of grief,
Of desolating fire, of human pain,
There comes some purifying sweet belief,
Some fellow-feeling beautiful, if brief.
And life revives, and blossoms once again.



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