Flower Children

by Elizabeth Gordon

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Flower Children: The Little Cousins of the Field and Garden (1910) is a collection of poems for young children to appreciate the variety and beauty of fresh flowers. Drawings by M.T. Ross. "A flower, a child, and a mother’s heart—These three are never so far apart. A child, a flower, and a mother’s love—This world’s best gifts from the world above."

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ALL children are flowers in the garden of God’s love. A flower is the mystical counterpart of a child. To the understanding heart a child is a flower and a flower is a child. God made flowers on the day that He made the world beautiful. Then He gave the world children to play amid the flowers. God has implanted in the breasts of children a natural love for flowers—and no one who keeps that love in his heart has entirely forsaken the land of childhood. -- Elizabeth Gordon, 1910

 SAID CROCUS: “My! this wind is cold!
Most wish I had not been so bold;
Here the fields are still all brown;
Glad I wore my eider-down.”

 EAGER little Daffodil
Came too soon and got a chill;
Jack Frost pinched her ear and said,
“Silly child, go back to bed.”

 HYACINTH, the pretty thing,
Comes to us in early spring;
Says she always loves to hear
Easter bells a-ringing clear.

 LADY TULIP, stately dame,
From across the ocean came;
Liked this country very much,
Although she only spoke in Dutch.

 LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY said
She guessed she was a sleepy-head;
But she got up and dressed for town
In her new green tailored gown.

 PUSSY WILLOW said, “Meow!
Wish some one would tell me how
Other kittens get around
And roll and frolic on the ground.”

 PRIMROSE is the dearest thing—
She loves to play out doors in spring;
But if a little child is ill,
She’s happy on the window sill.

 GRANDFATHER Dandelion had such pretty hair,
Along came a gust of wind and left his head quite bare;
Young Dandelion generously offered hint some gold,
To buy a cap to keep his dear old head from being cold.

 LILAC wears a purple plume,
Scented with a sweet perfume;
Very high-born lady she,
Quite proud of her family tree.

 PANSIES like the shaded places;
With their little friendly faces,
Always seem to smile and say:
“How are all the folks to-day?”

 JOHNNIE-JUMP-UP made a bet,
That he could pass for Violet.
What spoiled the little rascal’s game?
The scent he used was not the same.

 LADY’S-SLIPPER in the wood,
Said she really wished she could
Have a pretty dress and go
With sister to the flower show.

 MODEST little Violet
Was her loving Mother’s pet;
Did n’t care to go and play,
Rather stay at home all day.

 COWSLIP dearly loves to romp
Around the bottom of the swamp;
She comes along in early spring,
Before the grass, or anything.

 APPLE BLOSSOM is a fairy,
Swinging in a tree so airy;
By and by the little sprite
Sprinkles the ground with pink and white.

 LITTLE golden-hearted Daisy
Told the sun that she felt lazy;
Said the earth was quite too wet,
She thought she wouldn’t open yet.

 LAUGHING, lucky Four-Leafed Clover
Is a most atrocious rover;
Doesn’t stay long in one place,
Goes and never leaves a trace.

 THIRSTY little Buttercup
Caught the dew and drank it up,
Said cool water was so good,
She didn’t seem to care for food.

 SWEET little maid Forget-Me-Not,
She ’s such a darling little tot;
A blue-eyed child with modest ways,
She ’s never spoiled a bit by praise.

 COMMON little Garden Pink,
Went away to school—just think!
When she came home for vacation,
Made them call her Rose Carnation.

 MORNING-GLORY thought she’d look
Through the window at the cook;
Didn’t know ’t was impolite
To give a body such a fright.

 HONEYSUCKLE, pretty vine,
Loved about the porch to twine.
Thought’t was just too sweet for words
To visit with the humming-birds.

 WILD ROSE runs round everywhere,
Likes to breathe the nice fresh air;
Even her high-bred connection
Cannot match her pink complexion.

 COLUMBINE’s a happy sprite,
Dances with fairies every night;
She feeds them honey when they go,
That’s why the fairies love her so.

 OH, HAVE you seen the sweet Briar-Rose?
She wears the very dearest clothes,
A hat the sweetest ever seen,
And dainty frock all shades of green.

 BLUEBELL softly, gently sways
Through the long hot summer days;
Lives where nothing else can grow,—
That ’s why we all love her so.

 GERANIUM wears a scarlet gown,
With trimmings shading into brown;
Her cousin is a dainty sprite,
She dresses modestly in white.

 SWEET PEA said she thought they might
Give her a dress that wasn’t white;
So Mother Nature chose for her
All the colors that there were.

 SNAP-DRAGON is so very bold,
He plays his tricks on young and old;
Hides behind the old stone wall,
And shoots his pop-gun at us all.

 IRIS in a country garden,
Politely said, “I beg your pardon,
But I’m from sunny France you see
And my real name is Fleur-de-Lis.”

 PEONY’S a charming lady,
She doesn’t like a spot too shady;
Likes to live out in the light,
Dressed in red or pink or white.

 JACK ROSE said, ambitiously,
He would grow to be a tree;
But his Dad said, “Better far
Be contented as you are.”

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