Classic Poem

The flowers that thou hast loved within my song
Shine tenderly, — they are thy sweetest friends,
And to all such my including strain extends
Its grace: they shine within it in a throng!
Smooth jonquil, white camellia, rosebud gay:
Violets from nooks round which the water bends;
Green grasses, lavish ferns, all gifts love sends;
Thine orange-blossoms, — smiling, all obey.

Not one frail bud will I forget, I swear!
Whether within white bosom or deep hair
That bud has lingered, softly gathering sweets;
Thy life I wreathe around thee for a crown, —
Thine own past blossom-pleasures I lay down, —
I watch thy heart that was, and count its beats.