IV
AT THE ISLES OF SHOALS
The Island and the Garden which Celia Thaxter Loved
The poppies that grow in Celia Thaxter's garden
nod bright heads in welcome to all who come. It
is as if the sunny presence of their mistress dwelt
always in the spot, finding voice in these blooms
which are so delicate, yet so regnant in spirit.
To these all the other flowers which speak of the
homely virtues, marigolds and red geraniums,
coreopsis and pinks and love-in-a-mist, seem subordinate
at first approach, though they occupy
the bulk of the garden, which seems to epitomize
the life of the mistress who tended it so long.
There is no square of it without its rich aroma
of love and womanliness, yet it is the vivid personality
of the poppies, flowers for dreams, which
touches first the comer from the outside world.
Round about the garden lies Appledore, the largest of the Isles of Shoals, rocked gently on
