9 ROADSIDE FLOWERS

We are the roadside flowers

Straying from garden grounds,

Lovers of idle hours,

Breakers of ordered bounds.

If only the earth will feed us,

If only the wind be kind,

We blossom for those who need us,

The strangers left behind.

And lo, the Lord of the Garden,

He makes His sun to rise,

And His rain to fall like pardon

On our dusty paradise.

On us He has laid the duty —

The task of the wandering breed —

To better the world with beauty,

Wherever the way may lead.

Who shall inquire of the season

Or question the wind where it blows?

We blossom and ask no reason;

The Lord of the Garden knows.

( Bliss Carman )

Biography

Bliss Carman (1861-1929) was born in Canada. He was graduated from the University of New Brunswick, and studied at the University of Edinburgh,Scotland, and later at Harvard College. For some years he lived in New York City and edited the magazine, The Independent. He has written many short stories and poems of rare beauty and charm.

You Practice

Answer the following questions.

1) Who is speaking in the poem?

2) What do we commonly call roadside flowers

3) How are roadside flowers different from cultivated flower

4) What service do the flowers say they render

5) What does the last stanza mean to you?