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The Red Peony

Voluptuous green so leisurely and tranquil

and robe of red now light, now dark

heart of the flower sadness about to break

but how could we know this from such spring colors.

–Wang Wei (Tang Dynasty)

The winter sun that rises near the south
Looks coldly on my garden of cold clay;
Like some old dotard with a bitter mouth,
Shrugs his grey robe to his ears and creeps away.
Come down the mountains, April! with young eyes,
And roguish daisy-children trooping after,
Draw from the sullen clay red peonies,
Bring back the sun as a stripling full of laughter!

-Mary Webb