Venus in the Garden

James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)



'Twas at early morning,
The dawn was blushing in her purple bed,
When in a sweet, embowered garden
She, the fairest of the goddesses,
The lovely Venus,
Roamed amongst the roses white and red.
She sought for flowers
To make a garland
For her golden head.

Snow-white roses, blood-red roses,
In that sweet garden close,
Offered incense to the goddess:
Both the white and the crimson rose.

White roses, red roses, blossoming:
But the fair Venus knew
The crimson roses had gained their hue
From the hearts that for love had bled;
And the goddess made a garland
Gathered from the roses red.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
75

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABXCDBXEB CXDX AFFBEB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 574
Words 105
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 9, 4, 6

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the NAACP as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and anthologies. He was also the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. more…

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