I can write no stately proem
 As a prelude to my lay;
 From a poet to a poem
 I would dare to say.

 For if of these fallen petals
 One to you seem fair,
 Love will waft it till it settles
 On your hair.

 And when wind and winter harden
 All the loveless land,
 It will whisper of the garden,
 You will understand.

Vikram Doctor writes “For no particularly clear reasons, today’s poem [Poem #1225] made me think of three others, each quite different, but well worth carrying on the list.”

I agree - the poems are very different, and yet all connected in some way to Flecker’s poem; they form a nice theme. So, back to Vikram, with the first of his poems:

proem: An introduction; a preface

The first was by Oscar Wilde, a very simple and delicate poem to his wife. Its not very much, and in less sure hands could be too mawkish or pretty. But Wilde gets the balance just right, and the result is a poem which I read just casually once, but its always stayed with me.

— Vikram

Martin adds

As Vikram says, the poem has a very light, delicate touch - I was reminded in places of Teasdale. What particularly struck me was the way it kept getting better with every line - it starts off conventionally enough, but by the time it gets to the last verse, it is evident that Wilde has painted a softly beautiful image with a few, precise strokes; and the last line is quietly and hauntingly perfect.