THE 
POETRY OF FLOWERS 
AND 
FLOWERS OF POETRY 
absence. 
WORMWOOD. 
Wormwood is considered the bitterest of plants. Its scien¬ 
tific name, Absinthium , is derived from the Greek and signifies— 
without sweetness. It is therefore very appropriately made 
the emblem of absence; which according to La Fontaine, is 
the greatest of evils. 
He told me he would come again 
When summer’s last wild roses bloom, 
And when we parted in the glen 
The young houstonia shed perfume. 
I thought how many flowers must spring 
While I my absent love deplore; 
I could not bear that early thing 
Should not have faded long before. 
