A Red Flower
Claude McKay 1889 (Clarendon Parish) – 1948 (Chicago)
Your lips are like a southern lily red,
Wet with the soft rain-kisses of the night,
In which the brown bee buries deep its head,
When still the dawn's a silver sea of light.
Your lips betray the secret of your soul,
The dark delicious essence that is you,
A mystery of life, the flaming goal
I seek through mazy pathways strange and new.
Your lips are the red symbol of a dream,
What visions of warm lilies they impart,
That line the green bank of a fair blue stream,
With butterflies and bees close to each heart!
Brown bees that murmur sounds of music rare,
That softly fall upon the langourous breeze,
Wafting them gently on the quiet air
Among untended avenues of trees.
O were I hovering, a bee, to probe
Deep down within your scented heart, fair flower,
Enfolded by your soft vermilion robe,
Amorous of sweets, for but one perfect hour!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 26, 2023
- 47 sec read
- 295 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 850 |
Words | 157 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"A Red Flower" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6839/a-red-flower>.
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