There was a summer flame I knew, a slim Gladiolus, a flame out of the dust. Its hot magnificence at last grew dim, Its thin green swords dulled with the autumn's rust, And it was dead, men told me. But I knew That out of sight, and huddled underneath, The next year's beauty curled, and slowly grew Complete within its squat repulsive sheath. Sear the red flower, and the next spring's bud Folds hidden, to its final petalled wonder; Sear the green leaves, and the green hidden blood Builds a new splendor out of sight: as under Our desolate days, our withered winter, move The splendors of long springs budding in love. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IN HOSPITAL: 3. INTERIOR by WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY SONGS ON THE VOICES OF BIRDS; SEA-MEWS IN WINTER TIME by JEAN INGELOW IRELAND (1847) by DENIS FLORENCE MCCARTHY SEVEN SAD SONNETS: 3. THE WANDERING ONE by MARY REYNOLDS ALDIS THE CRACKED BELL by CHARLES BAUDELAIRE THE VISIONS OF BELLAY by JOACHIM DU BELLAY |