University of Virginia Library


54

The Tropaeolum Speciosum

When golden-poppy seeds begin to fall,
And lilies in their whiteness stand arrayed,
A flash of deep vermilion gleams to braid
For mid-July her fairest coronal.
First like a fly scarce scaped from out of thrall,
Its wings with dusky wrapping overlaid,
The shy buds cluster, then by sun's sweet aid
The fly becomes a trumpet on the wall
To blow forth summer's glory; poets hear
And dream of genii homes and magic flowers
To wreath the walls of some enchanter's hold,
While from a thousand horns of red and gold
From morn to noon and night is sounding clear
The music and the march of honeyed hours.