I HOLD you to my lips and heart, fair flowers, Dear, first-begotten children of the sun -- Whose summer lives in winter were begun; Sweet aliens from the warm June's pleasant bowers, Mocked at by cruel winds in desolate hours Through which the sands of winter slowly run: I touch your tender petals, one by one, And miss no beauty born of summer showers. I have a friend who to Life's winter days Will bring the warmth and splendor of the June; From him ye come, yet need not speak his praise, Since on my heart is written well that rune, And the fine fragrance of his gentle deeds Reveals his presence 'mong earth's common weeds. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ALL THAT'S PAST by WALTER JOHN DE LA MARE SANTA FILOMENA by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW OLD KING COLE by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE CONQUERED BANNER by ABRAM JOSEPH RYAN THE CHILD IN A GARDEN by MARIA ABDY THE FEILIRE OF ADAMNAN by ADAMNAN |