12 THE RHODORA

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 redbird 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 selfsame power that brought me there brought you.

( Ralph Waldo Emerson )

Biography

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), a native of Boston, was born not far from Franklin’s birthplace, but he lived most of his life in Concord, near Boston.He was the oldest among that brilliant group of New England scholars and writers that developed under the influence of Harvard College. Emerson was a quiet boy, but his high ambitions and sturdy determination were shown by the fact that he worked his way through college. He is best known for his essays,full of noble ideas which won for him the title “Sage of Concord.” As a poet, he was not particular about meter, making his lines often purposely rugged; but his verse is always full of thought. His poems of Nature are as clear-cut and vivid as snapshots.

Word list

pierced : went through

blooms : flowers came ou

cheapens : makes it look dull and faded

You Practice

Answer the following questions.

1) Where did the poet find the rhodora

2) How do we know the flower grew in a lonely place

3) How does the poet compare the colour of the bird with the colour of the flower

4) Why does the poet not think the rhodora will waste its loveliness?