To the Fringed Gentian

William Cullen Bryant

1794 to 1878

Poem Image
Track 1

Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.

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That openest when the quiet light
Then doth thy sweet and quiet eye
The aged year is near his end.
Succeeds the keen and frosty night.
Blue-blue-as if that sky let fall
I would that thus, when I shall see
May look to heaven as I depart.
A flower from its cerulean wall.
Thou waitest late and com'st alone,
Or columbines, in purple dressed,
O'er wandering brooks and springs unseen,
Thou blossom bright with autumn dew,
Nod o'er the ground-bird's hidden nest.
Thou comest not when violets lean
Look through its fringes to the sky,
Hope, blossoming within my heart,
And frosts and shortening days portend
When woods are bare and birds are flown,
And colored with the heaven's own blue,
The hour of death draw near to me,