Page:Poems Taggart.djvu/83

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No odors sweet proclaim the spot,
  Where its soft leaves unfold;
Nor mingled hues of beauty bright
Charm and allure the captive sight,
  With forms and tints untold.

One simple hue the plant portrays
  Of glowing radiance rare,
Fresh as the roseate morn displays,
  And seeming sweet and fair.

But closer prest, an odorous breath
  Repels the rover gay;
And from her hand with eager haste,
  'T is careless thrown away;

And thoughtless, that in evil hour
Disease may happiness devour,
And her fair form, elastic now,
To misery's wand may hopeless bow.

Then Reason leads wan Sorrow forth,
  To seek this lonely flower;
And blest experience kindly proves
  Its mitigating power.

Then, its bright hue the sight can trace,
  The brilliance of its bloom;
Though misery veil the weeping eyes,
Though sorrow choke the breath with sighs,
  And life deplore its doom.