THE WILD CLEMATIS.
Brave Clematis, through sunny days and long,
I watched thee toil to reach a leafy height,
Proud of thy kirtle green, and bloom-hood white;
And now when winds are riotous and strong,
Thou flauntest silken plumes sere leaves among,
To lead my glances from the Frost-King’s blight
And as of old my longing eyes delight,
Thou, fairest climber of the rustic throng;
And I take courage by thy bravery,
My much-plumed friend of tangled copse and vale,
That fain would hide the mars of autumn’s hour,
Henceforth I strive that others only see
My higher self as outward graces fail,
And see that self through love’s ennobling power.
Jenny Terrill Ruprecht.