'Happy and Beautiful Crocus'

 

"Soon as the frost will get out of my bed,
From this cold dungeon to free me,
I will peer up with my little bright head;
All will be joyful to see me.

Then from my heart will young petals diverge,
As rays of the sun from their focus;
I from the darkness of earth will emerge,
A happy and beautiful crocus.

Gaily array'd in my yellow and green,
When to their view I have risen,
Will they not wonder that one so serene
Came from so dismal a prison?

Many, perhaps, from so simple a flower
This little lesson may borrow —
Patient to-day, through its gloomiest hour,
We come out the brighter to-morrow.

from Hannah Flagg Gould's Crocus poem 'The Crocus's Soliloquy'

A colourful river of crocuses surrounds the green in Wyke, near my home. It's a spectacular sight and guaranteed to raise one's spirits, especially when seen in the Spring sunshine. 

The crocus is a symbol of hope for this poet.

Writing prompts:

• Set a timer and write for six minutes about your 'gloomiest hour.'
• Do you agree with the poet that if you are 'patient' through difficult times you will come out brighter in the end? Can adversity make us stronger? Write about it. 
• Like the crocus, what else is a symbol of hope for you? Explore this in your writing.