 | The poems of Mrs. Emma Catherine Embury |  |
VIOLETS.
Dearly I love those simple flowers,
Half hidden in their dark green nest,
Yet decked in more than regal pride,
With purple robe and golden vest.
Half hidden in their dark green nest,
Yet decked in more than regal pride,
With purple robe and golden vest.
Dearly I love them; they to me
With cherished memories are fraught,
And borne upon their perfumed breath
Comes many a sweet and pleasant thought.
With cherished memories are fraught,
And borne upon their perfumed breath
Comes many a sweet and pleasant thought.
Within our garden's quiet bounds
Those flowers in wild profusion grew,
And wandered over walk and bed,
As if their privilege they knew.
Those flowers in wild profusion grew,
And wandered over walk and bed,
As if their privilege they knew.
Uprooted was each noxious weed,
Well trained the lily and the rose,
The violets alone were left
To wander wheresoe'er they chose.
Well trained the lily and the rose,
The violets alone were left
To wander wheresoe'er they chose.
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My little one—a dark-eyed child,
Whose cheek the rose of health had fled,
Learned well to love the purple gems,
And cull them from their lowly bed.
Whose cheek the rose of health had fled,
Learned well to love the purple gems,
And cull them from their lowly bed.
Her little hands with graceful skill
A simple garland would entwine,
And then she laughed in childish glee,
To see them in her dark locks shine.
A simple garland would entwine,
And then she laughed in childish glee,
To see them in her dark locks shine.
At morn when dew-drops decked the grass,
At sunset's bright and gorgeous hours,
Still 'mid the violets was she seen,
And so we named them “Anna's flowers.”
At sunset's bright and gorgeous hours,
Still 'mid the violets was she seen,
And so we named them “Anna's flowers.”
Yet O! how oft my heart was wrung
While watching o'er her fading bloom;
Alas! I feared another spring
Might strew those flowers upon her tomb.
While watching o'er her fading bloom;
Alas! I feared another spring
Might strew those flowers upon her tomb.
But, Heaven be thanked! my fears were vain;
Again the rose bedecks her cheek,
Again her light and bounding step
The garden's vagrant child can seek.
Again the rose bedecks her cheek,
Again her light and bounding step
The garden's vagrant child can seek.
And when beside me oft she sits
With apron full of those sweet flowers,
Singing some mirthful melody,
Or picturing scenes of future hours—
With apron full of those sweet flowers,
Singing some mirthful melody,
Or picturing scenes of future hours—
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I look on her, and inly pray
That violet-like her life may prove;
The fragrance of a gentle heart
Her undisputed claim to love.
That violet-like her life may prove;
The fragrance of a gentle heart
Her undisputed claim to love.
| The poems of Mrs. Emma Catherine Embury | |