Poems (Curwen)/Honeyed Words

by Annie Isabel Curwen

Honeyed Words.

A WONDROUS PLANT.

There is a plant, a little plant,
 That blooms the wide world o'er,
You'll find it in the palace, and
 The cottage of the poor.

At joy's approach its glossy leaves
 Assume a brighter hue;
But when amid the funeral flowers
 They exhale tears like dew.

A leaf placed in the mourner's hand
 Assuages bitterest grief;
And when applied to hearts that ache,
 The sufferer finds relief.

Whence came this wondrous plant?
 Methinks it came first from above;
That 'tis an offshoot from some tree
 In God's great garden, Love.

And when the Son of God came down,
 To suffer and to die,
He brought with him this tender plant,
 Which we call Sympathy.

Plant it in thy soul's garden then,
 If thou would'st truly be
A follower of Him who taught
 Both Love and Charity.