Brave Clematis, through sunny days and long,

I watched thee toil to reach a leafy height,

Proud of thy kirtle green, and bloom-hood white;

And now when winds are riotous and strong,

Thou flauntest silken plumes sere leaves among,

To lead my glances from the Frost-King’s blight

And as of old my longing eyes delight,

Thou, fairest climber of the rustic throng;

And I take courage by thy bravery,

My much-plumed friend of tangled copse and vale,

That fain would hide the mars of autumn’s hour,

Henceforth I strive that others only see

My higher self as outward graces fail,

And see that self through love’s ennobling power.

Jenny Terrill Ruprecht.