978

It bloomed and dropt, a Single Noon
The Flower—distinct and Red
I, passing, thought another Noon
Another in its stead

Will equal glow, and thought no More
But came another Day
To find the Species disappeared
The Same Locality

The Sun in place—no other fraud
On Nature's perfect Sum
Had I but lingered Yesterday
Was my retrieveless blame

Much Flowers of this and further Zones
Have perished in my Hands
For seeking its Resemblance
But unapproached it stands

The single Flower of the Earth
That I, in passing by
Unconscious was—Great Nature's Face
Passed infinite by Me