Violets is a beautiful, thoughtful poem written by Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson (1875–1935), a female African American poet, essayist, diarist, and activist.

Violets

I had not thought of violets of late,
The wild, shy kind that springs beneath your feet
In wistful April days, when lovers mate
And wander through the fields in raptures sweet.
And thought of violets meant florists’ shops,
And bows and pins, and perfumed paper fine;
And garish lights, and mincing little fops
And cabarets and songs, and deadening wine.
So far from sweet real things my thoughts had strayed,
I had forgot wide fields, and clear brown streams;
The perfect loveliness that God has made —
And now — unwittingly, you’ve made me dream
Of violets, and my soul’s forgotten gleam.

—

Celebrate the astounding poet Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson and other incredible Black poets in this fantastic collection:

African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle & Song (LOA 333): A Library of America Anthology (The Library of America)

Violet image by artist MoePark. Visit Redbubble to buy products with this beautiful design.