The Woodspurge - Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882)

The wind  flapped loose, the wind was still,
Shaken out dead from tree to hill:
I had walked on at the wind´s will-
I sat now, for the wind was still.

Between my knees my forehead was-
My lips, drawn in, said not Alas!
My hair  was over in the grass,
My naked ears heard the day pass.

My eyes, wide open, had the run
Of some ten weeds to fix upon;
Among those few, out of the sun,
The woodspurge flowered, three cups in one.

From perfect grief there need not be
Wisdom or even memory:
One thing then learnt remains to me-
The woodspurge has a cup of three.

1856                        1870

Portrait of Dante Gabriel Rossetti at 22 years of Age by William Holman Hunt