Surely as cometh the Winter, I know
There are Spring violets under the snow.

Surely as cometh the Winter, I know
There are Spring violets under the snow.

Welcome, maids of honor,
You doe bring
In the spring,
And wait upon her.

Welcome, maids of honor,
You doe bring
In the spring,
And wait upon her.

Who are the violets now
That strew the green lap of the new-come spring?

Who are the violets now
That strew the green lap of the new-come spring?

The violets prattle and titter,
And gaze on the stars high above.

The violets prattle and titter,
And gaze on the stars high above.

The violets whisper from the shade
Which their own leaves have made:
Men scent our fragrance on read more

The violets whisper from the shade
Which their own leaves have made:
Men scent our fragrance on the air,
Yet take no heed
Of humble lessons we would read.

We are violets blue,
For our sweetness found
Careless in the mossy shades,
Looking read more

We are violets blue,
For our sweetness found
Careless in the mossy shades,
Looking on the ground.
Love's dropp'd eyelids and a kiss,--
Such our breath and blueness is.
- Leigh Hunt (James Henry Leigh Hunt),

The violets were past their prime,
Yet their departing breath
Was sweeter, in the blast of death,
read more

The violets were past their prime,
Yet their departing breath
Was sweeter, in the blast of death,
Than all the lavish fragrance of the time.

Early violets blue and white
Dying for their love of light.

Early violets blue and white
Dying for their love of light.

Winds wanders, and dews drip earthward;
Rains fall, suns rise and set;
Earth whirls, and all but read more

Winds wanders, and dews drip earthward;
Rains fall, suns rise and set;
Earth whirls, and all but to prosper
A poor little violet.