Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Maurice FrancisEgan

1092 The Shamrock

WHEN April rains make flowers bloom

And Johnny-jump-ups come to light,

And clouds of color and perfume

Float from the orchards pink and white,

I see my shamrock in the rain,

An emerald spray with raindrops set,

Like jewels on Spring’s coronet,

So fair, and yet it breathes of pain.

The shamrock on an older shore

Sprang from a rich and sacred soil

Where saint and hero lived of yore,

And where their sons in sorrow toil;

And here, transplanted, it to me

Seems weeping for the soil it left:

The diamonds that all others see

Are tears drawn from its heart bereft.

When April rain makes flowers grow,

And sparkles on their tiny buds

That in June nights will over-blow

And fill the world with scented floods,

The lonely shamrock in our land—

So fine among the clover leaves—

For the old springtimes often grieves,—

I feel its tears upon my hand.