Oh brightling flower, sprung up from the “dead”! 
Oh little jonquil of my soul’s content, 
Where did you bide, when sharper seasons spread, 
And all your faded leaves fell, limp and spent? 

I thought you’d all but perished when I scanned 
The meadows where you’d waved your charms last spring— 
For after warmth prevailed upon the land, 
I found you withered, like a cast-out thing. 
 
Again I passed in winter, when the heat 
Had long since vanished from the windswept plain— 
But oh!  What tender flower would make a seat 
In hinterlands of frost and freezing rain? 
 
And now, again, the airs of March unfurl: 
Today, at last, I search for new-burst buds; 
It seems my sense has stilled its snowstorm whirl— 
And here you burgeon, pressing through the mud. 
 
Bent in the bulb, asleep time out of mind, 
Your life-force, so condensed, had pulsed unseen— 
Now--lo!  You’ve left that holding-husk behind, 
And ‘neath gold lips rise straps of glowing green!

Just recently (years after I first penned this poem), I learned of another poem, “The Flower” by the metaphysical poet George Herbert, that is uncannily similar in theme, metaphor, tone, and even details to mine. As soon as I read it, I felt as though I had unwittingly locked into the thoughtstream of a kindred spirit from ages past. It seems only right to post a link to it here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50700/the-flower-56d22df9112c4