 | The poems of Mrs. Emma Catherine Embury |  |
THE STAR-FLOWER.
Know you whence sprung this starry flower,
With golden heart and azure rays,
Which blooms in every woodland bower
When fades the glow of summer days?
With golden heart and azure rays,
Which blooms in every woodland bower
When fades the glow of summer days?
Then list the legend long since heard
Beside the red man's winding river,
What time the wilds and forests lone
Were held by right of bow and quiver.
Beside the red man's winding river,
What time the wilds and forests lone
Were held by right of bow and quiver.
They tell of one,—a youthful brave
(His name would far outrun my rhyme);
His fame, in savage warfare won,
Would rival those of classic time.
(His name would far outrun my rhyme);
His fame, in savage warfare won,
Would rival those of classic time.
310
They tell how in the ambushed strife
An arrow pierced his fearless breast,
And how, on Susquehanna's marge,
They laid him with his sires to rest.
An arrow pierced his fearless breast,
And how, on Susquehanna's marge,
They laid him with his sires to rest.
But when the burial rites were done,
And he in forest glade was sleeping,
There came a gentle Indian maid,
Whose starry eyes were dim with weeping.
And he in forest glade was sleeping,
There came a gentle Indian maid,
Whose starry eyes were dim with weeping.
She built her lodge beside the grave,
And there, as passed each dreary morrow,
She still her faithful vigil held,
And dwelt alone with love and sorrow.
And there, as passed each dreary morrow,
She still her faithful vigil held,
And dwelt alone with love and sorrow.
Full soon, beneath Annunga's
care,
The turf was decked with many a flower,
Until death's dreary home appeared
As fair as love's own chosen bower.
The turf was decked with many a flower,
Until death's dreary home appeared
As fair as love's own chosen bower.
There lingered last the buds of spring,
There first glowed forth the summer's bloom,
And autumn's gayest flow'rets shed
Their glories round that woodland tomb.
There first glowed forth the summer's bloom,
And autumn's gayest flow'rets shed
Their glories round that woodland tomb.
All day within her silent lodge
The mourner shrunk before the light,
For earth beneath the sun's glad ray
Seemed to her tearful eye too bright.
The mourner shrunk before the light,
For earth beneath the sun's glad ray
Seemed to her tearful eye too bright.
311
But when the shades of evening fell,
Deepening the tint of leaf and blossom,
And stars came looking meekly forth,
Glassed in the river's tranquil bosom,—
Deepening the tint of leaf and blossom,
And stars came looking meekly forth,
Glassed in the river's tranquil bosom,—
Then knelt she by that hallowed spot,
And wept the livelong night away,
Until heaven's sparkling crown grew dim,
And faded in the morning ray.
And wept the livelong night away,
Until heaven's sparkling crown grew dim,
And faded in the morning ray.
When earth was wrapped in wintry shroud,
And leafless trees stood grim and gaunt,
Like giant spectres set to guard
The spot where grief had made her haunt,—
And leafless trees stood grim and gaunt,
Like giant spectres set to guard
The spot where grief had made her haunt,—
Still dwelt she in her forest lair,
Which cowered beneath the branches low,
And seemed, amid those dreary wilds,
A speck upon the waste of snow.
Which cowered beneath the branches low,
And seemed, amid those dreary wilds,
A speck upon the waste of snow.
Thus came and went the changing times,
While still the maid her watch was keeping,
Till grief its weary task had done,
And life was worn with frequent weeping.
While still the maid her watch was keeping,
Till grief its weary task had done,
And life was worn with frequent weeping.
But in that season
when the haze
With purple light the distance fills,
As if old Autumn in his flight
Had dropped his mantle on the hills;
With purple light the distance fills,
As if old Autumn in his flight
Had dropped his mantle on the hills;
312
When forest trees with regal pomp
Their wealth of gem-like leaves display,
And earth in gayest garb puts on
The glory that precedes decay,—
Their wealth of gem-like leaves display,
And earth in gayest garb puts on
The glory that precedes decay,—
Then prostrate on her lover's grave,
With long black hair all lifeless spread,
Shrouding her in its pall-like gloom,
They found the gentle maiden dead.
With long black hair all lifeless spread,
Shrouding her in its pall-like gloom,
They found the gentle maiden dead.
And where her quivering lip was pressed
When breathing forth her life's last sigh,
They, wondering, saw a nameless flower
Look meekly upward to the sky.
When breathing forth her life's last sigh,
They, wondering, saw a nameless flower
Look meekly upward to the sky.
Such blossom ne'er before was found
In woodland brake, or tangled dell;
It sprung beneath Annunga's sigh,
Born from the heart that loved too well.
In woodland brake, or tangled dell;
It sprung beneath Annunga's sigh,
Born from the heart that loved too well.
| The poems of Mrs. Emma Catherine Embury | |