Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A CITY FLOWER, by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: To and fro in the city I go Last Line: That had settled over my heart. Alternate Author Name(s): Dobson, Austin Subject(s): Cities; Urban Life | ||||||||
'Il y a des fleurs animees.' -- POLITE COLLOQUIALISM. TO and fro in the City I go, Tired of the ceaseless ebb and flow, Sick of the crowded mart; Tired of the din and rattle of wheels, Sick of the dust as one who feels The dust is over his heart. And again and again, as the sunlight wanes, I think of the lights in the leafy lanes, With the bits of blue between; And when about Rimmel's the perfumes play, I smell no vapours of 'Ess Bouquet,' But violets hid in the green; And I love -- how I love -- the plants that fill The pots on my dust-dry window-sill, -- A sensitive sickly crop, -- But a flower that charms me more, I think, Than cowslip, or crocus, or rose, or pink, Blooms -- in a milliner's shop. Hazel eyes that wickedly peep, Flash, abash, and suddenly sleep Under the lids drawn in; Ripple of hair that rioteth out, Mouth with a half-born smile and a pout, And a baby breadth of chin; Hands that light as the lighting bird, On the bloom-bent bough, and the bough is stirred With a delicate ecstasy; Fingers tipped with a roseate flush, Flicking and flirting a feathery brush Over the papery bonnetry; -- Till the gauzy rose begins to glow, And the gauzy hyacinths break and blow, And the dusty grape grows red; And the flaunting grasses seem to say, 'Do we look like ornaments -- tell us, we pray -- Fit for a lady's head?' And the butterfly wakes to a wiry life, Like an elderly gentleman taking a wife, Knowing he must be gay, And all the bonnets nid-noddle about, Like chattering chaperons set at a rout, Quarrelling over their play. How can I otherwise choose than look At the beautiful face like a beautiful book, And learn a tiny part? So I feel somehow that every day Some flake of the dust is brushed away That had settled over my heart. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THINGS (FOR AN INDIAN) TO DO IN NEW YORK (CITY) by SHERMAN ALEXIE THE CITY REVISITED by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET TEN OXHERDING PICTURES: ENTERING THE CITY WITH BLISS-BESTOWING HANDS by LUCILLE CLIFTON THE CITY OF THE OLESHA FRUIT by NORMAN DUBIE DISCOVERING THE PHOTOGRAPH OF LLOYD, EARL, AND PRISCILLA by LYNN EMANUEL MY DIAMOND STUD by ALICE FULTON A FANCY FROM FONTENELLE by HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON |
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