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His fragrant Sybaris, than I, when first
From the dark green thy yellow circles burst.

4

Then think I of deep shadows on the grass,-
Of meadows where in sun the cattle graze,
Where, as the breezes pass,

The gleaming rushes lean a thousand ways,—
Of leaves that slumber in a cloudy mass,
Or whiten in the wind, of waters blue

That from the distance sparkle through

Some woodland gap,- and of a sky above,

Where one white cloud like a stray lamb doth move.

5

My childhood's earliest thoughts are linked with thee; The sight of thee calls back the robin's song,

Who, from the dark old tree

Beside the door, sang clearly all day long,
And I, secure in childish piety,,
Listened as if I heard an angel sing

With news from heaven, which he could bring
Fresh every day to my untainted ears,

When birds and flowers and I were happy peers.

6

How like a prodigal doth nature seem, When thou, for all thy gold, so common art! Thou teachest me to deem

More sacredly of every human heart,

Since each reflects in joy its scanty gleam
Of heaven, and could some wondrous secret show
Did we but pay the love we owe,

And with a child's undoubting wisdom look
On all these living pages of God's book.

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HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes and Questions.

Which stanzas express the poet's love for the dandelion?

To what historical fact do the first two lines of the second stanza refer? Does this statement seem to you extravagant? How does the poet justify it? What stanzas tell us why the dandelion is so dear to the poet? Where must he have lived to have learned what he tells us in these stanzas? Read the lines which tell you in what period of his life this occurred.

What things are described in stanza four?

What in stanza five? What comparison occurs in stanza four? Does it appeal to you as apt and beautiful? Did you ever gaze up at the blue sky and drifting, fleecy clouds? Does the poet describe these well?

What does the robin's song be

come to the listening child? Why so to the child more than to the man? Read lines that answer this question.

What duty and what truth does nature teach through the dandelion?

Which stanza do you like best?

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TO THE FRINGED GENTIAN.

WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.

1

Thou blossom, bright with autumn dew, And colored with the heaven's own blue, That openest when the quiet light Succeeds the keen and frosty night;

2

Thou comest not when violets lean
O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen,
Or columbines, in purple dressed,

Nod o'er the ground bird's hidden nest.

3

Thou waitest late, and com'st alone,
When woods are bare and birds are flown,

And frosts and shortening days portend
The aged year is near his end.

4

Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye
Look through its fringes to the sky,
Blue-blue- as if that sky let fall
A flower from its cerulean wall.

5

I would that thus, when I shall see
The hour of death draw near to me,
Hope, blossoming within my heart,
May look to heaven as I depart.

HELPS TO STUDY.

Notes and Questions.

To whom is this poem addressed? At what time of the year does the fringed gentian bloom? What words tell you?

Read the words that tell the color of the gentian.

When does it open? What words does the poet use to mean early morning?

Why does he speak of the "quiet light''?

When do violets come? In what

kind of soil do they grow? What words in the poem tell you this?

Why did the poet say violets "lean''?

What does he tell you about the

columbine when he says it "'nods''?

What does "aged year" mean? By what signs does the poet know winter is coming? What does the repetition of the word "blue" in the third line of the fourth stanza add to the thought?

Of what is this color said to be the symbol?

What does the poet mean by the "cerulean wall''?

To what in his life does Bryant

compare the end of the year? What does the little flower represent in this comparison? What part of this poem do you like best? Why?

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