The Idle Flowers
I have sown upon the fieldsEyebright and Pimpernel,And Pansy and Poppy-seedRipen'd and scatter'd well,
And silver Lady-smockThe meads with light to fill,Cowslip and Buttercup,Daisy and Daffodil;
King-cup and Fleur-de-lysUpon the marsh to meetWith Comfrey, Watermint,Loose-strife and Meadowsweet;
And all along the streamMy care hath not forgotCrowfoot's white galaxyAnd love's Forget-me-not:
And where high grasses waveShall great Moon-daisies blink,With Rattle and Sorrel sharpAnd Robin's ragged pink.
Thick on the woodland floorGay company shall be,Primrose and HyacinthAnd frail Anemone,
Perennial Strawberry-bloom,Woodsorrel's pencilled veil,Dishevel'd Willow-weedAnd Orchis purple and pale,
Bugle, that blushes blue,And Woodruff's snowy gem,Proud Foxglove's finger-bellsAnd Spurge with milky stem.
High on the downs so bare,Where thou dost love to climb,Pink Thrift and Milkwort are,Lotus and scented Thyme;
And in the shady lanesBold Arum's hood of green,Herb Robert, Violet,Starwort and Celandine;
And by the dusty roadBedstraw and Mullein tall,With red ValerianAnd Toadflax on the wall,
Yarrow and Chicory,That hath for hue no like,Silene and Mallow mildAnd Agrimony's spike,Blue-eyed VeronicasAnd grey-faced ScabiousAnd downy SilverweedAnd striped Convolvulus:
Harebell shall haunt the banks,And thro' the hedgerow peerWithwind and SnapdragonAnd Nightshade's flower of fear.
And where men never sow,Have I my Thistles set,Ragwort and stiff WormwoodAnd straggling Mignonette,
Bugloss and Burdock rankAnd prickly Teasel high,With Umbels yellow and white,That come to kexes dry.
Pale Chlora shalt thou find,Sun-loving Centaury,Cranesbill and Sinjunwort,Cinquefoil and Betony:
Shock-headed Dandelion,That drank the fire of the sun:Hawkweed and Marigold,Cornflower and Campion.
Let Oak and Ash grow strong,Let Beech her branches spread;Let Grass and Barley throngAnd waving Wheat for bread;
Be share and sickle brightTo labour at all hours;For thee and thy delightI have made the idle flowers.
But now 'tis Winter, child,And bitter northwinds blow,The ways are wet and wild,The land is laid in snow.
Words in this poem 26
- eyebright n.
- A small annual plant (Euphrasia officinalis), formerly much used as a remedy for diseases of the eye.
- cowslip n.
- A common flower in England (Primula veris) having yellow blossoms and appearing in early spring. It is often cultivated in the United States. [AS. c, c, prob. orig., cow's droppings. Cf. Slop, n.]
- comfrey n.
- A rough, hairy, perennial plant of several species, of the genus Symphytum. [Prob. from F. conferve, L. conferva, fr. confervere to boil together, in medical language, to heal, grow together. So called on account of its healing power, fo]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- blink v. i.
- To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. [OE. blenken; akin to dan. blinke, Sw. blinka, G. blinken to shine, glance, wink, twinkle, D. blinken to shine; and prob. to D. blikken to glance, twinkle, G. bl]
- snowy a.
- White like snow.
- milkwort n.
- A genus of plants (Polygala) of many species. The common European P. vulgaris was supposed to have the power of producing a flow of milk in nurses.
- bedstraw n.
- Straw put into a bed.
- toadflax n.
- An herb (Linaria vulgaris) of the Figwort family, having narrow leaves and showy orange and yellow flowers; -- called also butter and eggs, flaxweed, and ramsted.
- yarrow n.
- An American and European composite plant (Achillea Millefolium) with very finely dissected leaves and small white corymbed flowers. [OE. yarowe, yarwe, ýarowe, AS. gearwe; akin to D. gerw, OHG. garwa, garawa, G. garbe, schafgarbe, and perhaps to E. yare.]
- chicory n.
- A branching perennial plant (Cichorium Intybus) with bright blue flowers, growing wild in Europe, Asia, and America; also cultivated for its roots and as a salad plant; succory; wild endive. [F. chicorée, earlier also cichorée, L. cichorium, fr. Gr. , , Cf. Succory.]
- scabious a.
- Consisting of scabs; rough; itchy; leprous; as, scabious eruptions. Arbuthnot. [L. scabious, from scabies the scab: cf. F. scabieux.]
- silverweed n.
- A perennial rosaceous herb (Potentilla Anserina) having the leaves silvery white beneath.
- harebell n.
- A small, slender, branching plant (Campanula rotundifolia), having blue bell-shaped flowers; also, Scilla nutans, which has similar flowers; -- called also bluebell.
- hedgerow n.
- A row of shrubs, or trees, planted for inclosure or separation of fields.
- withwind n.
- A kind of bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). [AS. wiedhowinde.]
- ragwort n.
- A name given to several species of the composite genus Senecio.
- straggling a.
- from Straggle, v.
- mignonette n.
- A plant (Reseda odorata) having greenish flowers with orange- colored stamens, and exhaling a delicious fragrance. In Africa it is a low shrub, but further north it is usually an annual herb. [F. mignonnette, dim. of mignon darling. See 2d Minion.]
- bugloss n.
- A plant of the genus Anchusa, and especially the A.
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- cinquefoil n.
- The name of several different species of the genus Potentilla; -- also called five-finger, because of the resemblance of its leaves to the fingers of the hand. [Cinque five + foil, F. feuille leaf. See Foil.]
- betony n.
- A plant of the genus Betonica (Linn.). [OE. betony, betany, F. betoine, fr. L. betonica, vettonica.]
- drank n.
- Wild oats, or darnel grass. See Drake a plant. [Cf. 3d Drake.]
- cornflower n.
- A conspicuous wild flower (Centaurea Cyanus), growing in grainfields.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Idle Flowers is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Excluding the Eight Dramas, Project Gutenberg ebook #37804; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bridges, The Idle Flowers, in The Growth of Love, and Other Poems (1873–1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #37804, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bridges-shorter-poems/the-idle-flowers.html, id L01818.
Form and metre
The Idle Flowers is 84 lines in 20 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 87% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.2 syllables. 17 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 33% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 -A-A smock · fillA · buttercup · daffodilA
- 3 -A-A lys · meetA · watermint · meadowsweetA
- 4 -A-A stream · forgotA · galaxy · notA
- 5 -A-A wave · blinkA · sharp · pinkA
- 7 -A-A bloom · veilA · weed · paleA
- 8 -A-A blue · gemA · bells · stemA
- 9 -A-A bare · climbA · are · thymeA
- 11 -A-A road · tallA · valerian · wallA
- 12 -A-A---- chicory · likeA · mild · spikeA · veronicas · scabious · silverweed · convolvulus
- 13 -A-A banks · peerA · snapdragon · fearA
- 14 -A-A sow · setA · wormwood · mignonetteA
- 15 -A-A rank · highA · white · dryA
- 17 AA-A dandelionA · sunA · marigold · campionA
- 18 ABAB strongA · spreadB · throngA · breadB
- 19 ABAB brightA · hoursB · delightA · flowersB
- 20 ABAB childA · blowB · wildA · snowB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I have sown upon the fields | 7 | ······· |
| Eyebright and Pimpernel, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| And Pansy and Poppy-seed | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| Ripen'd and scatter'd well, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And silver Lady-smock | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The meads with light to fill, | 6 | ······ |
| Cowslip and Buttercup, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Daisy and Daffodil; | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| King-cup and Fleur-de-lys | 6 | ······ |
| Upon the marsh to meet | 6 | ······ |
| With Comfrey, Watermint, | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Loose-strife and Meadowsweet; | 6 | ······ |
| And all along the stream | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| My care hath not forgot | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Crowfoot's white galaxy | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And love's Forget-me-not: | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And where high grasses wave | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Shall great Moon-daisies blink, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| With Rattle and Sorrel sharp | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| And Robin's ragged pink. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Thick on the woodland floor | 6 | ···/·· |
| Gay company shall be, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Primrose and Hyacinth | 6 | /··/˘· |
| And frail Anemone, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Perennial Strawberry-bloom, | 7 | ˘/˘/·˘· |
| Woodsorrel's pencilled veil, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Dishevel'd Willow-weed | 6 | ˘/˘/·· |
| And Orchis purple and pale, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Bugle, that blushes blue, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And Woodruff's snowy gem, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Proud Foxglove's finger-bells | 6 | ·/·/˘· |
| And Spurge with milky stem. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| High on the downs so bare, | 6 | ······ |
| Where thou dost love to climb, | 6 | ······ |
| Pink Thrift and Milkwort are, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Lotus and scented Thyme; | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And in the shady lanes | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Bold Arum's hood of green, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Herb Robert, Violet, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Starwort and Celandine; | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And by the dusty road | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Bedstraw and Mullein tall, | 6 | /··/˘· |
| With red Valerian | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| And Toadflax on the wall, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Yarrow and Chicory, | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| That hath for hue no like, | 6 | ······ |
| Silene and Mallow mild | 7 | ˘/˘·/˘· |
| And Agrimony's spike, | 6 | ······ |
| Blue-eyed Veronicas | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| And grey-faced Scabious | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| And downy Silverweed | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| And striped Convolvulus: | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Harebell shall haunt the banks, | 6 | /˘···· |
| And thro' the hedgerow peer | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Withwind and Snapdragon | 6 | /˘·/·˘ |
| And Nightshade's flower of fear. | 6 | ·/·/·· |
| And where men never sow, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Have I my Thistles set, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Ragwort and stiff Wormwood | 6 | /˘··/· |
| And straggling Mignonette, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Bugloss and Burdock rank | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| And prickly Teasel high, | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| With Umbels yellow and white, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| That come to kexes dry. | 6 | ······ |
| Pale Chlora shalt thou find, | 6 | ······ |
| Sun-loving Centaury, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Cranesbill and Sinjunwort, | 6 | /····· |
| Cinquefoil and Betony: | 6 | /˘·/˘˘ |
| Shock-headed Dandelion, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·˘ |
| That drank the fire of the sun: | 7 | ···/··· |
| Hawkweed and Marigold, | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
| Cornflower and Campion. | 7 | /·˘·/˘˘ |
| Let Oak and Ash grow strong, | 6 | ······ |
| Let Beech her branches spread; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Let Grass and Barley throng | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And waving Wheat for bread; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Be share and sickle bright | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To labour at all hours; | 7 | ·/···/˘ |
| For thee and thy delight | 6 | ····˘/ |
| I have made the idle flowers. | 7 | ····/˘/ |
| But now 'tis Winter, child, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And bitter northwinds blow, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The ways are wet and wild, | 6 | ······ |
| The land is laid in snow. | 6 | ······ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.