And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.
Iris
All posts tagged Iris
Purple irises were planted over the graves of women to summon the Greek Goddess Iris to guide the dead in their journey. The ancient Greeks believed the Iris protected them from evil spirits and even today, many Greeks place the Iris on the graves of women to guide their souls into the afterworld. ❖
“In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove;
In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love” — Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Found
By Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
I WANDERED lonely
Beneath the trees,
And sought for nothing,
But strolled at ease.
There in the shadows
A flower grew,
Like starlight beaming,
Like eyes so blue.
I sought to break it,
But heard it say:
“Shall I be broken
To fade away?”
I dug it out then
With roots and all,
And bore it home to
My garden small.
Again it’s planted
And finds repose;
And now as ever
It blooms and grows.
Thou art the Iris, fair among the fairest,
Who, armed with golden rod
And winged with the celestial azure, bearest
The message of some God.
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to take the souls of women to the Elysian fields.” — Hana No Monogatari, from The Stories of Flowers.
Maverick Mist 