A wan-cheeked girl with faded eyes Came stumbling down the crowded car, Clutching her burden to her breast As though she held a star. Roses, I swear it! Red and sweet And struggling from her pinched white hands, Roses ... like captured hostages From far and fairy lands! The thunder of the rushing train Was like a hush ... The flower scent Breathed faintly on the stale, whirled air Like some dim sacrament— I saw a garden stretching out And morning on it like a crown— And o'er a bed of crimson bloom My mother ... stooping down. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LOHENGRIN; PROEM by EMMA LAZARUS THE POWER OF ART by GEORGE SANTAYANA BUCOLIC COMEDY: WHY by EDITH SITWELL |