The Aster

The golden aster blooms,
A star in the woodland throng,
With petals bright as sunlight,
To cheer the land along.
O tiny sun, how fierce you beam,
In the shadow of the trees,
Like laughter spilled on a dreary day
To find the winter’s freeze.

You flourish in the gnarled old roots,
Of the dead and the dying ground,
While the sigh of summer’s breathing leaves,
Is the only sound around.
But look, there, amongst the briars,
A new green leaf is born,
That sits in the midst of lingering gloom
Just waking to the morn.

So the heart of man is a garden vast,
With sorrows thick strewn wide;
Yet hope like a flower, gives birth to light
In the wilds where dreams abide,
And blooms unto the glory above
That no withering can stay,
For the promise of life is an everlasting flame,
And you are its wondrous ray!

• Charles GD Roberts