"The Primrose"

I saw it in my evening walk,
  A little lonely flower!
Under a hollow bank it grew,
  Deep in a mossy bower.

An oak’s gnarl’d root, to roof the cave
  With Gothic fretwork sprung,
Whence jewell’d fern, and arum leaves,
  And ivy garlands hung.
 
And from beneath came sparkling out
  From a fallen tree’s old shell,        
A little rill, that dipt about
  The lady in her cell.
 
And there, methought, with bashful pride,
  She seem’d to sit and look
On her own maiden loveliness      
  Pale imaged in the brook.

No other flower—no rival grew
  Beside my pensive maid;
She dwelt alone, a cloister’d nun,
  In solitude and shade.       
 
No sunbeam on that fairy well
  Darted its dazzling light—
Only, methought, some clear, cold star
  Might tremble there at night.

No ruffling wind could reach her there—        
  No eye, methought, but mine,
Or the young lamb’s that came to drink,
  Had spied her secret shrine.
 
And there was pleasantness to me
  In such belief. Cold eyes       
That slight dear Nature’s lowliness,
  Profane her mysteries.
 
Long time I looked and linger’d there,
  Absorb’d in still delight—
My spirit drank deep quietness        
  In, with that quiet sight.

Caroline Bowles Southey (1786–1854)

There are so many daffodils and irises shooting up and primroses flowering in the garden now that I'm seriously worried we're going to have a really dull spring, with all the usual bulbs already spent and died back.  Is there a precedent for a prolonged mild spell in winter prompting such premature sprouting, I wonder?  I think when spring comes I shall put cut daffodils into vases set in the flower beds, just so that we have some colour to look out at.  The thought of spring without the usual life-affirming display of fresh blooms is somewhat depressing....

I hope, at least, that we still have the joyous colours of Blipfoto to look at in the spring.  At the moment, it's touch and go as to whether this unique document of daily life around the world will escape being closed down in two months' time.  To learn more, and to donate, please visit https://www.blipfuture.com/invest