Classic Poem

Sing January violets —
Who ever saw them grow?
Yet my lady has a garden
Where the north winds never blow.
And my lady moves about it,
Like a sunbeam through the flowers,
And the year makes haste to woo her
With the heat of August hours.

Sing January violets —
They reached me in the snow;
She sent them from a far love land
Where pleasant waters flow.
Where 'mid the Kerry mountains
God made Killarney green,
And laid the living glory
Of Ireland's fairest scene.

Sing January violets —
It sets my heart aglow
To think what fingers gathered them
A little while ago.
Before my lady's favour
The winter frowns in vain,
And summer will be saddened
Unless she smiles again.