A pitcher of mignonette
In a tenement’s highest casement,—
Queer sort of flower-pot—yet
That pitcher of mignonette
Is a garden in heaven set,
To the little sick child in the basement—
The pitcher of mignonette,
In a tenement’s highest casement.
_Lizette Woodworth Reese_
Lizette Woodworth Reese was born January 9, 1856, at Baltimore,
Maryland, where she has lived ever since. After an education
obtained chiefly in private schools, she taught English in the
Western High School at Baltimore.
Her first book, _A Branch of May_ (1887), seems, at first glance, to
be merely a continuation of the tradition of English minor verse,
pleasant and impersonal. But an undercurrent of emotion, a quiet
intensity, makes one go back to these simple lyrics and prepares the
reader for the charm of the ensuing volumes.
_A Handful of Lavender_ (1891), _A Quiet Road_ (1896) and _A Wayside
Lute_ (1909) embody an artistry which, in spite of its old-fashioned
contours, is as true as it is tender. A host of the younger
lyricists owe much of their technique to her admirable models, and
few modern sonneteers have equaled the blended music and symbolism
of “Tears.”