Tiger Lilies
by PADRAIC COLUM
CHILDE ROLAND to the Dark Tower came,
And saw beside the grated vaults
The Tiger Lilies
On long, much-leaved and weedy stalks.
And wondered (hen what crookback knaves
Had these, their favors, on their graves.
What mocking jades!
He saw them in a gleam that edged
Down from the grinning waterspout,
And knew their gage:
Perverters of the lily’s name,
With curled lips and longues stuck out.
The sooty spotted flowers of flame!
And saw beside the grated vaults
The Tiger Lilies
On long, much-leaved and weedy stalks.
And wondered (hen what crookback knaves
Had these, their favors, on their graves.
What mocking jades!
He saw them in a gleam that edged
Down from the grinning waterspout,
And knew their gage:
Perverters of the lily’s name,
With curled lips and longues stuck out.
The sooty spotted flowers of flame!