Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE FLOWER OF FAME, by ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON Poet's Biography First Line: He sought it before the billow of spring on the meadow Last Line: Deep in whose broken blossom the dew lies like a tear. Subject(s): Fame; Reputation | ||||||||
HE sought it before the billow of spring on the meadow was seen, When only the flush of the willow was tracing the river with green; He scanned to the edge of the fraying snows that dappled the mountain-slope, And ever too late the March sun rose: for he searched the world with hope. I saw him at noon of the summer day, and that was the favorite hour To one who had hunted from March to May, and never had found the flower; For the light was full, as though the sun were aiding his eager quest, And there were no warning shadows to run o'er his path from east or west. And still in September's purple and gold he was hunting the grudging ground, But not with the steady eye of old or the springtime's joyous bound; If he stopped in his feverish roaming, 't was to question the darkling air; Too early came the gloaming: he was searching with despair. And while, for a chance of the rarest, he wanders in storm or heat, He is blind to the charm of the fairest; he is crushing beneath his feet The Flower of Every Valley, the Flower of All the Year, Deep in whose broken blossom the dew lies like a tear. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THEM AND US by LUCILLE CLIFTON A MAN TO A WOMAN by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS DEATH AND FAME by ALLEN GINSBERG EARTH'S IMMORTALITIES: FAME by ROBERT BROWNING STANZAS WRITTEN ON THE ROAD BETWEEN FLORENCE AND PISA by GEORGE GORDON BYRON PROVIDE, PROVIDE by ROBERT FROST AN ENGLISH MOTHER by ROBERT UNDERWOOD JOHNSON |
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