Sea Violet
H. D.
The white violet
is scented on its stalk,
the sea-violet
fragile as agate,
lies fronting all the wind
among the torn shells
on the sand-bank.
The greater blue violets
flutter on the hill,
but who would change for these
who would change for these
one root of the white sort?
Violet
your grasp is frail
on the edge of the sand-hill,
but you catch the light –
frost, a star edges with its fire.
About this poem
“Sea Violet” was published in H. D.’s book “Sea Garden” (Houghton Mifflin, 1916).
About Hilda Doolittle
Hilda Doolittle was born on September 10, 1886, in Bethlehem, Pa. A member of the Imagist movement, her collections include “Sea Garden” (Houghton Mifflin, 1916) and “Helen in Egypt” (Grove Press, 1961). She died on Sept. 27, 1961.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
This poem is in the public domain. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
