Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Constance FenimoreWoolson

871 Yellow Jessamine

IN tangled wreaths, in clustered gleaming stars,

In floating, curling sprays,

The golden flower comes shining through the woods

These February days;

Forth go all hearts, all hands, from out the town,

To bring her gayly in,

This wild, sweet Princess of far Florida—

The yellow jessamine.

The live-oaks smile to see her lovely face

Peep from the thickets; shy,

She hides behind the leaves her golden buds

Till, bolder grown, on high

She curls a tendril, throws a spray, then flings

Herself aloft in glee,

And, bursting into thousand blossoms swings

In wreaths from tree to tree.

The dwarf-palmetto on his knees adores

This Princess of the air;

The lone pine-barren broods afar and sighs,

“Ah! come, lest I despair;”

The myrtle-thickets and ill-tempered thorns

Quiver and thrill within,

As through their leaves they feel the dainty touch

Of yellow jessamine.

The garden-roses wonder as they see

The wreaths of golden bloom,

Brought in from the far woods with eager haste

To deck the poorest room,

The rich man’s house, alike; the loaded hands

Give sprays to all they meet,

Till, gay with flowers, the people come and go,

And all the air is sweet.

The Southern land, well weary of its green

Which may not fall nor fade,

Bestirs itself to greet the lovely flower

With leaves of fresher shade;

The pine has tassels, and the orange-trees

Their fragrant work begin:

The spring has come—has come to Florida,

With yellow jessamine.