Page:Elegiac Sonnets 2.pdf/89

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ODE.

77

I hail the goddess for her scarlet flower!
        Thou brilliant weed,
        That dost so far exceed
    The richest gifts gay Flora can bestow:
Heedless I pass'd thee in life's morning hour,
    (Thou comforter of woe)
Till sorrow taught me to confess thy power.

    In early days, when Fancy cheats,
        A varied wreath I wove,
    Of laughing Spring's luxuriant sweets,
        To deck ungrateful Love:
    The rose, or thorn, my labours crown'd;
    As Venus smiled, or Venus frown'd;