quote · Legacy record
Nay, I wrong you, little flower, Reading mournful mood of mine In your looks, that give no sign Of a spirit dark and cheerless: You possess the heavenly power That rejoices in the hour, Glad, contented, free and fearless,— Lifts a sunny face to heaven When a sunny day is given; Makes a summer of its own, Blooming late and all alone.
Nay, I wrong you, little flower, Reading mournful mood of mine In your looks, that give no sign Of a spirit dark and cheerless: You possess the heavenly power That rejoices in the hour, Glad, contented, free and fearless,— Lifts a sunny face to heaven When a sunny day is given; Makes a summer of its own, Blooming late and all alone.
Approximate author period: c. 1892 AD · industrial
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Henry Van Dyke
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1892 AD · industrial
Approximate author-period evidence for Henry van Dyke Jr.: life dates 1852 to 1933. Wikidata Q950959, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q950959 (accessed 2026-10-08).
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- The Optimist’s Good Morning (1911) (1911 AD)
Complete signed selection 337; printed byline: Henry Van Dyke; Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1911; printed copyright 1907
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.