The Thousand Word Project - Chrysanthemums

Psalms 104:24  O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Sweet with a freshening fragrance, all their own,
    In which a faint, dim breath of bitter lies,
    Like wholesome breath mid honeyed flatteries;
When other blooms are dead, and birds have flown,
      You stand alone.

Fronting the winter with a fearless grace,
    Flavoring the odorless gray autumn chill,
    Nipped by the furtive frosts, but cheery still,
Lifting to heaven from the bare garden place
      A smiling face.

- Susan Coolidge
Excerpt from "My White Chrysanthemum"