Classic Poem

Strange flower, to ope when day is o'er,
Beneath the stars' faint light;
Shunning the sun's bright, cheering rays,
That other flowers delight.

The lily now has closed its leaves,
The pansy shut its eye;
While thy fair petals open wide
Beneath the evening sky.

And strange, that such an ugly stem
So fair a flower should bear;
That thus the contrast too should make
So fair a flower more fair.

A miracle thou truly art,
Waking when others sleep;
In thee we see the law reversed,
Which others faithful keep.

I watch the eager wondering throng,
As on thy form they look;
Half conscious of the lesson taught
In Nature's pictured book.

On which, as we more deeply pore,
New wonders still we find;
To raise our thoughts and hearts in love
To the All-perfect Mind.