Hath the pearl less whiteness
Because of its birth?
Hath the violet less brightness
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Hath the pearl less whiteness
Because of its birth?
Hath the violet less brightness
For growing near earth?

The eyes of spring, so azure,
Are peeping from the ground;
They are the darling violets,
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The eyes of spring, so azure,
Are peeping from the ground;
They are the darling violets,
That I in nosegays bound.

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.

Stars will blossom in the darkness,
Violets bloom beneath the snow.

Stars will blossom in the darkness,
Violets bloom beneath the snow.

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.

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

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

Steals timidly away,
Shrinking as violets do in summer's ray.

Steals timidly away,
Shrinking as violets do in summer's ray.

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),

And shade the violets,
That they may bind the moss in leafy nets.

And shade the violets,
That they may bind the moss in leafy nets.