At one time in a garden grew,

An orchid of exotic hue.

Its crimson petals curled between

Sheer sepals cast in emerald green.

 

Possessing fragrance to beguile

The Goddess Flora … and the while,

The stamen at its apogee

Reached toward the sky majestically.

 

Its presence in my heart did dwell,

As mystically it worked its spell.

Such splendor caused in me to soar

A passion never known before.

 

At last I tore it from its place,

And clasped the flower in my embrace.

I held for it a lust divine …

Above all else it must be mine.

 

And as I knelt in rapture there,

The orchid writhed in grim despair.

As if to show my love denied,

Forlornly in my arms it died.