If the dandelion tall
Hath a yellow and shining head,
It is because he hath lately seen
One who came, passed and fled
Swiftly under the side of the wall
In a gold crown and a robe of green.
And if the heather and green gorse dark
Can shine at will in colours fair,
It is because far Paradise floor
Hanging aloft in the evening air,
They have seen, and hasten to mark
Themselves its pavement and wall and door.
If there are small flowers blue and red,
Five-fold about their inner whorl,
And dight so well in leaf and blade,
It is that they have seen unfurl
High in the dark arch overhead,
Many a five-fold Star displayed.
And if the tree on the eastern hill
Looketh him forth so steadfastly
And silently doth ponder all,
It is because the spirits free
That the whole earth do make and fill,
In all his branches cry and call.
1914.