Stedman and Hutchinson, comps. A Library of American Literature:
An Anthology in Eleven Volumes. 1891.
Vols. IX–XI: Literature of the Republic, Part IV., 1861–1889
Flower and Thorn
By Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836–1907)[Born in Portsmouth, N. H., 1836. Died in Boston, Mass., 1907. The Poems of Thomas Bailey Aldrich. 1858–85).—Household Edition. 1885.]
T
Silvery thorn and flower,
Plucked just at random
In the rosy weather—
Snowdrops and pansies,
Sprigs of wayside heather,
And five-leaved wild-rose
Dead within an hour.
Who can tell? some day, dear,
(Though they be withered,
Flower and thorn and blossom,)
Held for an instant
Up against thy bosom,
They might make December
Seem to thee like May, dear!