To beg of thee, dear violet!

Some of thy modesty,

That blossoms here as well, unseen,

As if before the world thou’dst been,

O give to strengthen me.

—JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

When daisies pied, and violets blue,

And lady-smocks all silver white,

And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue,

Do paint the meadows with delight.