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Jonathan Gallegos on Unsplash

Delleboersterheide, nature reserve of the It Fryske Gea. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) on an overgrown heathland.

Agnes Monkelbaan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

     THE YELLOW VIOLET

When beechen buds begin to swell,
And woods the blue-bird's warble know,
The yellow violet's modest bell
Peeps from the last year's leaves below.

Ere russet fields their green resume,
Sweet flower, I love, in forest bare,
To meet thee, when thy faint perfume
Alone is in the virgin air.

Of all her train, the hands of Spring
First plant thee in the watery mould,
And I have seen thee blossoming
Beside the snow-bank's edges cold.

Thy parent sun, who bade thee view
Pale skies, and chilling moisture sip,
Has bathed thee in his own bright hue,
And streaked with jet thy glowing lip.

Yet slight thy form, and low thy seat,[Page 16]
And earthward bent thy gentle eye,
Unapt the passing view to meet,
When loftier flowers are flaunting nigh.

Oft, in the sunless April day,
Thy early smile has stayed my walk;
But midst the gorgeous blooms of May,
I passed thee on thy humble stalk.

So they, who climb to wealth, forget
The friends in darker fortunes tried.
I copied them—but I regret
That I should ape the ways of pride.

And when again the genial hour
Awakes the painted tribes of light,
I'll not o'erlook the modest flower
That made the woods of April bright.

William Cullen Bryant (1794 – 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poetry early in his life. He soon relocated to New York and took up work as an editor at various newspapers. He became one of the most significant poets in early literary America and has been grouped among the fireside poets for his accessible, popular poetry. Wikipedia

Poem is in the public domain

Aaron Brunhofer on Unsplash

Blast furnace road (at night) Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Thomas Bonometti on Unsplash

Forester kangaroo (Macropus giganteus tasmaniensis) juvenile, Upper Esk Valley, Dorset, Tasmania, Australia.

Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

Lance Asper on Unsplash

A motorcyclist in motion on the corner of W 42nd St and 6th Ave in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on March 9, 2023. An example of kinetic art created by intentional camera movement, reminiscent of the work of Austrian-American photographer Ernst Haas (1921–1986).

Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) - An influential North African theologian and philosopher, known for works like Confessions and The City of God. He is the patron and father of the Catholic Augustinian order. Biography

Paul Van Cotthem on Unsplash

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon in the American Southwest. It is located on Navajo land east of Page, Arizona. It was formed by erosion of Navajo Sandstone, primarily due to flash flooding. Rainwater runs into the extensive basin above the slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. I visited this wonder of nature in the summer of 2016.

Tower Clock manufacturer in Morez, France - Louis-Delphin Odobey Cadet. Daylight saving time begins today in much of the Western Hemisphere.

Henri Gaudichon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. View source.