Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE FLOWER FACTORY, by FLORENCE WILKINSON EVANS First Line: Lisabetta [or lizabetta], marianina, fiametta, teresina Last Line: Fill their baby hands with roses, joyous roses of the sun! Alternate Author Name(s): Wilkinson, Florence Subject(s): Flowers; Wellesley College | ||||||||
LISABETTA, Marianina, Fiametta, Teresina, They are winding stems of roses, one by one, one by one, Little children who have never learned to play; Teresina softly crying that her fingers ache to-day; Tiny Fiametta nodding when the twilight slips in, gray. High above the clattering street, ambulance and fire-gong beat, They sit, curling crimson petals, one by one, one by one. Lisabetta, Marianina, Fiametta, Teresina, They have never seen a rosebush nor a dewdrop in the sun. They will dream of the vendetta, Teresina, Fiametta, Of a Black Hand and a face behind a grating; They will dream of cotton petals, endless, crimson, suffocating, Never of a wild-rose thicket nor the singing of a cricket, But the ambulance will bellow through the wanness of their dreams, And their tired lids will flutter with the street's hysteric screams. Lisabetta, Marianina, Fiametta, Teresina, They are winding stems of roses, one by one, one by one. Let them have a long long playtime, Lord of Toil, when toil is done, Fill their baby hands with roses, joyous roses of the sun! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LINES WRITTEN TO A TRANSLATOR OF GREEK POETRY by MARGARET STEELE ANDERSON THE LESSER BEAUTY by MARGARET STEELE ANDERSON WORK by MARGARET STEELE ANDERSON IN MEMORY: MISS JEWETT by GRACE ALLERTON ANDREWS HERE ENTER NOT by KATHARINE CANBY BALDERSTON I CLEANED MY HOUSE TODAY by KATHARINE CANBY BALDERSTON MY GARDEN by KATHARINE CANBY BALDERSTON A MEMORIAL TABLET by FLORENCE WILKINSON EVANS BOYS AND GIRLS by FLORENCE WILKINSON EVANS BROADWAY REMEMBERS HER CHILDHOOD by FLORENCE WILKINSON EVANS |
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