The Rhodora
On being asked, Whence is the flower?
In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,
I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,
Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,
To please the desert and the sluggish brook.
The purple petals, fallen in the pool,
Made the black water with their beauty gay;
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool,
And court the flower that cheapens his array.
Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,
Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:
Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!
I never thought to ask, I never knew:
But, in my simple ignorance, suppose
The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
My Rhododendrons that I photographed just yesterday in my yard. Rhododendrons are the Washington State Flower. The purple Rhodora at the top of this page is not in my yard but one I photographed in a garden we visited.
Don’t be shocked if I choose Rhododendrons when we reach the letter R, too!
Linking up to ABC Wednesday for P is for Poetry. Also photography, purple and pretty!
This meme was started by Mrs. Nesbitt and administered by Roger and his Team.
Wonderful poem Ellen and your photo’s are lovely as well.
Have a nice abc-wednesday-day / – week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)
I would LOVE to see more of your rhodos – I have a couple of shots this week of mine, but they’re mostly just budding and starting to bloom. The azaleas are fully out, though. Love the poem – hidden meanings in there! Have a pleasant week,
Leslie
abcw team
Delightful poem to go with the equally delightful Rhodora..
one of my favourite colours too!
Di,
abcw team
I enjoyed the poem especially that the Rhodora is a rival of the Rose!
Beautiful photos of this exotic looking shrub & its blooms
If I had that beautiful Rhodora in my garden, I’d probably write about it for both the letter p and the letter r too. You may consider the next round of the letter f as well. Blessings!
Beeeeaaauuutttiifullll! It’s that time of year again for you – enjoy!
That is a beautiful poem! Love the flow of words in the lines.
Happy ABCW!
Lovely the poem and the photos.
Great choice for P! I am looking forward to seeing your R post with Rhododendron.
Wil, ABCWTeam
gorgeous – flowers and poem
ROG, ABCW
I had not read that poem before. Thanks! There’s a rhodie garden in Humboldt County 🙂
They are very pretty flowers aren’t they!
Beautiful rhodies and if you post ‘ rhodora’ every week that would be fine with me! I ‘m so happy to see them and love the memories. (An Emerson poem every once in a while would be great too!)
Have never read that poem before…he really likes rhodos! Never waste a good “R.”