Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, MOTHER TO DAUGHTER, by MARGUERITE STEFFAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

MOTHER TO DAUGHTER, by                    
First Line: It is not just because you might be fair
Last Line: My head as one who shaped a priceless gift.
Subject(s): Magnolias


It is not just because you might be fair
As that magnolia blossom opening wide
Its curved white petals to the sunny air --
That, watching you, I glow with artists' pride;
It is because -- as from the blossom's rim
Fresh waves of sweetness ripple into space --
Your eyes, your lips, your very gestures brim
With springs of joy so rich they might embrace
All arid wastes, all frozen poles of grief,
And make them flower. . . . It is because such joy
Lingers like incense for the world's belief;
Because like gold, untarnished by alloy,
It shines in doubt's grey palm -- therefore I lift
My head as one who shaped a priceless gift.





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