Louis Untermeyer said that of all of Amy Lowell’s poems she liked “Lilacs” best. I can feel why -- near its end are these lines:
Heart-leaves of lilac all over New England,
Roots of lilac under all the soil of New England,
Lilac in me because I am New England,
Because my roots are in it,
Because my leaves are of it,
Because my flowers are for it,
Because it is my country
And I speak to it of itself.
(Louis Untermeyer is quoted from page xxvii of The Complete Poetical Works of Amy Lowell. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1955.)
For a brief biography of Amy Lowell, click here. For some images of or relating to Amy Lowell, click here. For a bit about lilacs, and some pictures, click here. For a brief biography of Louis Untermeyer, click here.
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