Serena
(In the forests of Paraguay there gronvs a plant which the peasants call Serena, quite unnoticeable and yet of a perfume so attractive that those iv/io have plucked the flower by accident are said henceforth to roam the woods incessantly in quest of another blossom.)
In Paraguayan forests there's a flower
The shepherds call Serena.
(Of all that blooms on herb or tree
Serena is the flower for me!)
The white magnolia on her brazen tower,
The lemon-fresh verbena
And roses where their purple clusters shower
Are nothing to Serena!
For where the wild liana shrouds the forest
In darkness, under cover,
Serena grows, so pure and small
You never notice her at all.
No herborist, no botanist, no florist,
Hath cared to con thee over
Thou little lonely blossom that abhorrest
The gazes of thy lover!
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