A Spray of Honeysuckle

I broke one day a slender stem, Thick-set with little golden horns, Half bud, half blossom, and a gem— Such as one finds in autumn morns When all the grass with dew is strung— On every fairy bugle hung. Careless, I dropped it, in a place Where no light shone, and so forgot Its delicate, dewy, flowering grace, Till presently from the dark spot A charming sense of sweetness came, That woke an answering sense of shame. Quickly I thought, O heart of mine, A lesson for thee plain to read: Thou needest not that light should shine, Or fellow-men thy virtues heed: Enough—if haply this be so— That thou hast sweetness to bestow!

Collection: 
English
Mary Emily Bradley

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