Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Aubrey Thomas De Vere b. 1814

Flowers I Would Bring

FLOWERS I would bring if flowers could make thee fairer,

And music, if the Muse were dear to thee;

(For loving these would make thee love the bearer)

But sweetest songs forget their melody,

And loveliest flowers would but conceal the wearer:—

A rose I mark’d, and might have pluck’d; but she

Blush’d as she bent, imploring me to spare her,

Nor spoil her beauty by such rivalry.

Alas! and with what gifts shall I pursue thee,

What offerings bring, what treasures lay before thee;

When earth with all her floral train doth woo thee,

And all old poets and old songs adore thee;

And love to thee is naught; from passionate mood

Secur’d by joy’s complacent plenitude!