| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | March 31 | | Charlotte Brontë | | By Charlotte Becker |
| | (Died March 31, 1855)
NOT any of earth’s happiness she knew, | |
| But only dull, gray days of sordid care, | |
| And yet there grew within her, strong and fair, | |
| The flower and fruit of comprehension, true | |
| And vital as the northern wind that blew | 5 |
| Across her native moorlands; grief swept bare | |
| The beauty of the joys she might not share, | |
| And gave her power to tell life’s wonders through. | |
| Repressed and patient, each slow year more sad | |
| With dreary servitude to other’s pain— | 10 |
| Her genius, like a budding rose, had lain | |
| Too close her heart to wither—all the glad, | |
| Warm strength of living, as each leaf unfurled, | |
| Denied to her, was blossomed for the world! | | | | |
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