Jasmines

Jas in the Arab language is despair,
And Min the darkest meaning of a lie.
Thus cried read more

Jas in the Arab language is despair,
And Min the darkest meaning of a lie.
Thus cried the Jessamine among the flowers,
How justly doth a lie
Draw on its head despair!
Among the fragrant spirits of the bowers
The boldest and the strongest still was I.
Although so fair,
Therefore from Heaven
A stronger perfume unto me was given
Than any blossom of the summer hours.

It smelt so faint, and it smelt so sweet,
It made me creep and it made me cold.
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It smelt so faint, and it smelt so sweet,
It made me creep and it made me cold.
Like the scent that steals from the crumbling sheet
Where a mummy is half unroll'd.

And the jasmine flower in her fair young breast,
(O the faint, sweet smell of that jasmine flower!)
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And the jasmine flower in her fair young breast,
(O the faint, sweet smell of that jasmine flower!)
And the one bird singing alone to his nest.
And the one star over the tower.

Out in the lonely woods the jasmine burns
Its fragrant lamps, and turns
Into a royal court read more

Out in the lonely woods the jasmine burns
Its fragrant lamps, and turns
Into a royal court with green festoons
The banks of dark lagoons.

And at my silent window-sill
The jessamine peeps in.

And at my silent window-sill
The jessamine peeps in.

Jasmine is sweet, and has many loves.

Jasmine is sweet, and has many loves.

Among the flowers no perfume is like mine;
That which is best in me comes from within.
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Among the flowers no perfume is like mine;
That which is best in me comes from within.
So those in this world who would rise and shine
Should seek internal excellence to win.
And though 'tis true that falsehood and despair
Meet in my name, yet bear it still in mind
That where they meet they perish. All is fair
When they are gone and nought remains behind.