Poem by Madison Julius Cawein

My Suit

Faith! the Dandelion is
 To my mind too lowly;
Then the winsome Violet
 Is, forsooth, too holy.

There's the Touch-me-not - go to!
 What! a face that's speckled
Like a buxom milking-maid's
 Which the sun hath freckled!

And the Tiger-lily's wild,
 Flirts, is fierce and haughty;
And the Sweet-Brier Rose, I swear,
 Pricks you and is naughty.

Columbine a fool's cap hath,
 Then she is too merry;
Gossip, I would sooner woo
 Some plebeian Berry.

There's the shy Anemone, -
 Well - her face shows sorrow;
Pale, goodsooth! alive to-day,
 Dead and gone to-morrow.

And that big-eyed, fair-cheeked wench,
 The untoward Daisy,
She's been wooed, aye! overmuch -
 Then she is too lazy.

Pleasant persons are they all,
 And their virtues many;
Faith, I know but good of all,
 And naught ill of any.

Marry! 'tis a May-apple,
 Fair-skinned as a Saxon,
Whom I woo, a fragrant thing
 Delicate and waxen.

1. Response
2. Elfin
3. On the Hilltop
4. La Beale Isoud
5. Foreword to Weeds by the Wall

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