Birds and Nature, Vol. VIII, No 2, September 1900 — Tiger-Lilies

TIGER-LILIES.

I like not lady-slippers, Nor yet the sweet-pea blossoms, Nor yet the flaky roses, Red, or white as snow;

I like the chaliced lilies, The heavy Eastern lilies, The gorgeous tiger-lilies, That in our gardens grow.

For they are tall and slender;

Their mouths are dashed with carmine;

And when the wind sweeps by them, On their emerald stalks They bend so proud and graceful-- They are Circassian women, The favorites of the Sultan, Adown our garden walks!

And when the rain is falling, I sit beside the window And watch them glow and glisten, How they burn and glow!

O, for the burning lilies, The tender Eastern lilies, The gorgeous tiger-lilies, That in our garden grow!

Thomas Bailey Aldrich.