For Poetry Month, another selection, this time inspired by my very purple garden plot:

The Violet
    ~Jane Taylor

Down in a green and shady bed,
A modest violet grew,
Its stalk was bent, it hung its head,
As if to hide from view.

And yet it was a lovely flower,
Its colours bright and fair;
It might have graced a rosy bower,
Instead of hiding there,

Yet there it was content to bloom,
In modest tints arrayed;
And there diffused its sweet perfume,
Within the silent shade.

Then let me to the valley go,
This pretty flower to see;
That I may also learn to grow
In sweet humility.

You are likely already familiar with one of Jane Taylor’s poems, one she composed with her sister, Ann, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” An early-19th century writer of works for children, Jane was noted by poet Robert Browning as one of his influences.