ONCE saw I many a blooming flower Upon my way, but slothfully Stoop'd not to pluck them in that hour, And on my proud steed hasten'd by. Now when I'm near to death, and languish, Now when beneath me yawns the tomb, Oft in my thought, with bitter anguish, Returns the' unheeded flowers' perfume. But most of all, my brain is burning With a bright yellow violet fair; Wild beauty! How I grieve with yearning, To think that I enjoy'd thee ne'er! My comfort is: Oblivion's waters Have not yet lost their olden might The dull hearts of earth's sons and daughters To steep in Lethe's blissful night. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TOMORROW by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD THE NEW ARRIVAL by GEORGE WASHINGTON CABLE UPON THE DEATH OF THE LORD HASTINGS by JOHN DRYDEN THE VOYAGE TO VINLAND: 3. GUDRIDA'S PROPHECY by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE CARD-DEALER by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI THE KINGDOM OF GOD by FRANCIS THOMPSON |