Flower-Life
I think that, next to your sweet eyes,And pleasant books, and starry skies,I love the world of flowers;Less for their beauty of a day,Than for the tender things they say,And for a creed I've held alway,That they are sentient powers.
It may be matter for a smile--And I laugh secretly the whileI speak the fancy out--But that they love, and that they woo,And that they often marry too,And do as noisier creatures do,I've not the faintest doubt.
And so, I cannot deem it rightTo take them from the glad sunlight,As I have sometimes dared;Though not without an anxious sighLest this should break some gentle tie,Some covenant of friendship, IHad better far have spared.
And when, in wild or thoughtless hours,My hand hath crushed the tiniest flowers,I ne'er could shut from sightThe corpses of the tender things,With other drear imaginings,And little angel-flowers with wingsWould haunt me through the night.
Oh! say you, friend, the creed is fraughtWith sad, and even with painful thought,Nor could you bear to knowThat such capacities belongTo creatures helpless against wrong,At once too weak to fly the strongOr front the feeblest foe?
So be it always, then, with you;So be it--whether false or true--I press my faith on none;If other fancies please you more,The flowers shall blossom as before,Dear as the Sibyl-leaves of yore,But senseless, every one.
Yet, though I give you no reply,It were not hard to justifyMy creed to partial ears;But, conscious of the cruel part,My rhymes would flow with faltering art,I could not plead against your heart,Nor reason with your tears.
Words in this poem
- starry a.
- Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- drear n.
- Sadness; dismalness.
- fraught n.
- A freight; a cargo. [OE.fraight, fraght; akin to Dan. fragt, Sw. frakt, D. vracht, G. fracht, cf. OHG. fr merit, reward; perh. from corresponding to E. for + The root of E. own. Cf.]
- 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,]
- sibyl n.
- A woman supposed to be endowed with a spirit of prophecy.
- yore adv.
- In time long past; in old time; long since. [OE. , yare, , AS. geára;akin to geár a year, E. year. Year.]
- faltering a.
- Hesitating; trembling.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Flower-Life is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems of Henry Timrod; with Memoir, Project Gutenberg ebook #845; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Timrod, Flower-Life, in Poems (1860–1867), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #845, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/timrod-poems/flower-life.html, id L10494.
Form and metre
Flower-Life is 49 lines in 7 stanzas of 7 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABCCCB. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.7 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 22% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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.
- 1 AABCCCB eyesA · skiesA · flowersB · dayC · sayC · alwayC · powersB
- 2 AABCCCB smileA · whileA · outB · wooC · tooC · doC · doubtB
- 3 AABCCCB rightA · sunlightA · daredB · sighC · tieC · iC · sparedB
- 4 AABCCCB hoursA · flowersA · sightB · thingsC · imaginingsC · wingsC · nightB
- 5 AABCCCB fraughtA · thoughtA · knowB · belongC · wrongC · strongC · foeB
- 6 AABCCCB youA · trueA · noneB · moreC · beforeC · yoreC · oneB
- 7 AABCCCB replyA · justifyA · earsB · partC · artC · heartC · tearsB
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I think that, next to your sweet eyes, | 8 | ········ |
| And pleasant books, and starry skies, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I love the world of flowers; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Less for their beauty of a day, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Than for the tender things they say, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And for a creed I've held alway, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| That they are sentient powers. | 8 | ···/˘˘/˘ |
| It may be matter for a smile-- | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And I laugh secretly the while | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| I speak the fancy out-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But that they love, and that they woo, | 8 | ········ |
| And that they often marry too, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And do as noisier creatures do, | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘· |
| I've not the faintest doubt. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And so, I cannot deem it right | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To take them from the glad sunlight, | 8 | ······/· |
| As I have sometimes dared; | 6 | ···˘/· |
| Though not without an anxious sigh | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Lest this should break some gentle tie, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Some covenant of friendship, I | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| Had better far have spared. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| And when, in wild or thoughtless hours, | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| My hand hath crushed the tiniest flowers, | 10 | ·····/˘˘/˘ |
| I ne'er could shut from sight | 6 | ······ |
| The corpses of the tender things, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| With other drear imaginings, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| And little angel-flowers with wings | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘·· |
| Would haunt me through the night. | 6 | ······ |
| Oh! say you, friend, the creed is fraught | 8 | ········ |
| With sad, and even with painful thought, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| Nor could you bear to know | 6 | ······ |
| That such capacities belong | 8 | ··˘/˘˘˘/ |
| To creatures helpless against wrong, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| At once too weak to fly the strong | 8 | ········ |
| Or front the feeblest foe? | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| So be it always, then, with you; | 8 | ···/···· |
| So be it--whether false or true-- | 8 | ········ |
| I press my faith on none; | 6 | ······ |
| If other fancies please you more, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The flowers shall blossom as before, | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| Dear as the Sibyl-leaves of yore, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But senseless, every one. | 7 | ·/˘/˘˘· |
| Yet, though I give you no reply, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| It were not hard to justify | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My creed to partial ears; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But, conscious of the cruel part, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| My rhymes would flow with faltering art, | 9 | ·····/˘˘· |
| I could not plead against your heart, | 8 | ········ |
| Nor reason with your tears. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
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