The Poetry Corner

To J.M.B.

By Louisa May Alcott

'Oh, were I a heliotrope, I would play poet, And blow a breeze of fragrance To you; and none should know it. 'Your form like the stately elm When Phoebus gilds the morning ray; Your cheeks like the ocean bed That blooms a rose in May. 'Your words are wise and bright, I bequeath them to you a legacy given; And when your spirit takes its flight, May it bloom aflower in heaven. 'My tongue in flattering language spoke, And sweeter silence never broke in busiest street or loneliest glen. I take you with the flashes of my pen. 'Consider the lilies, how they grow; They toil not, yet are fair, Gems and flowers and Solomon's seal. The geranium of the world is J. M. Bhaer. 'JAMES'