Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, TO A WIND-FLOWER, by MADISON JULIUS CAWEIN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO A WIND-FLOWER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Teach me the secret of thy loveliness
Last Line: For beauty born of beauty -- that remains.
Variant Title(s): To A Windflower
Subject(s): Anemone; Plants; Planting; Planters


TEACH me the secret of thy loveliness,
That, being made wise, I may aspire to be
As beautiful in thought, and so express
Immortal truths to earth's mortality;
Though to my soul ability be less
Than 't is to thee, O sweet anemone.

Teach me the secret of thy innocence,
That in simplicity I may grow wise,
Asking from Art no other recompense
Than the approval of her own just eyes;
So may I rise to some fair eminence,
Though less than thine, O cousin of the skies.

Teach me these things, through whose high knowledge, I, --
When Death hath poured oblivion through my veins,
And brought me home, as all are brought, to lie
In that vast house, common to serfs and Thanes, --
I shall not die, I shall not utterly die,
For beauty born of beauty -- that remains.





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