When Love arose in heart and deed,
To wake the world to greater joy,
“What can she give me now?” said Greed,
Who thought to win some costly toy.
He rose, he ran, he stooped, he clutched,
And soon the flowers, that Love let fall,
In Greed’s hot grasp were frayed and smutched,
And Greed said, “Flowers! can this be all?”
He flung them down, and went his way,
He cared no jot for thyme or rose;
But boys and girls came out to play,
And some took these, and some took those,
Red, blue, and white, and green and gold;
And at their touch the dew returned,
And all the bloom a thousand fold,
So red, so ripe, the roses burned.