Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LINES ON OBSERVING A BLOSSOM [ON THE FIRST OF FEBRUARY 1796], by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LINES ON OBSERVING A BLOSSOM [ON THE FIRST OF FEBRUARY 1796], by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Sweet flower! That peeping from thy russet stem
Last Line: Played deftly on a soft-toned instrument.
Variant Title(s): Anemone: Forsaken
Subject(s): Flowers


Sweet flower! that peeping from thy russet stem
Unfoldest timidly, (for in strange sort
This dark, frieze-coated, hoarse, teeth-chattering month
Hath borrow'd Zephyr's voice, and gazed upon thee
With blue voluptuous eye) alas, poor Flower!
These are but flatteries of the faithless year.
Perchance, escaped its unknown polar cave,
Even now the keen North-East is on its way.
Flower that must perish! shall! liken thee
To some sweet girl of too too rapid growth
Nipp'd by consumption mid untimely charms?
Or to Bristowa's bard, the wondrous boy!
An amaranth, which earth scarce seem'd to own,
Till disappointment came, and pelting wrong
Beat it to earth? or with indignant grief
Shall I compare thee to poor Poland's hope,
Bright flower of hope killed in the opening bud?
Farewell, sweet blossom! better fate be thine
And mock my boding! Dim similitudes
Weaving in moral strains, I've stolen one hour
From anxious Self, Life's cruel taskmaster!
And the warm wooings of this sunny day
Tremble along my frame and harmonize
The attempered organ, that even saddest thoughts
Mix with some sweet sensations, like harsh tunes
Played deftly on a soft-toned instrument.






Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net