O FLOWER whose beauty Wordsworth with delight
Beheld and sang a hundred years ago,
Still hast thou golden loveliness to show,
Still is thy twofold yellow fresh and bright.
Though winter still with scarce enfeebled might
Strives for his place, and his retreat is slow,
Thou art a champion that defies the foe.
Bear up, brave flower: for succour is in sight.
Bear up, brave flower; the sun is thine ally,
And day by day his power will lengthen out.
Winter is beaten; winter needs must yield.
Thy oriflamme betokens triumph nigh;
Soon will this rearguard action be a rout,
And spring will hold possession of the field.
II
Ah that so soon thy loveliness must fade!
How oft the bearers of the burden die
Ere they can taste the sweets of victory,
Yet happy if their passing be delayed.
Till they have seen the thing that they essayed
Change from a prospect to a certainty!
No fairer sight can cheer the closing eye
Than this, no richer recompense be paid.
So when the plenitude of summer fills
The garden with a rich array of flowers,
Let us think lovingly of daffodils
That were our comrades in the trying hours,
When amid equinoctial winds and showers
With them we bore the last of winter’s chills.
(Robert Henry Forster)
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Based on Topics: Sense & Perception Poems, Place Poems, Flowers Poems, Success Poems, Money & Wealth Poems, Summer Poems, Courage Poems, Winter Poems, Garden PoemsBased on Keywords: equinoctial, oriflamme, betokens, rearguard