The Poison Flower
By Mary Elizabeth Coleridge
The poison flower that in my garden grew
Killed all the other flowers beside.
They withered off and died,
Because their fiery foe sucked up the dew.
When the sun shone, the poison flower breathed cold
And spread a chilly mist of dull disgrace.
They could not see his face,
Roses and lilies languished and grew old.
Wherefore I tore that flower up by the root,
And flung it on the rubbish heap to fade
Amid the havoc that itself had made.
I did not leave one shoot.
Fair is my garden as it once was fair.
Lilies and roses reign.
They drink the dew, they see the sun again;
But I rejoice no longer, walking there.
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