1829

TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN

by William Cullen Bryant

TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN -

Thou blossom bright with autumn dew,

And colored with the heaven's own blue,

That openest when the quiet light

Succeeds the keen and frosty night. -

Thou comest not when violets lean

O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen,

Or columbines, in purple dressed,

Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest. -

Thou waitest late and com'st alone,

When woods are bare and birds are flown,

And frosts and shortening days portend

The aged year is near his end. -

Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye

Look through its fringes to the sky,

Blue- blue- as if that sky let fall

A flower from its cerulean wall. -

I would that thus, when I shall see

The hour of death draw near to me,

Hope, blossoming within my heart,

May look to heaven as I depart. - -