And only where the forest fires have sped, <br /> Scorching relentlessly the cool north lands, <br />A sweet wild flower lifts its purple head, <br />And, like some gentle spirit sorrow-fed, <br /> It hides the scars with almost human hands. <br /> <br />And only to the heart that knows of grief, <br /> Of desolating fire, of human pain, <br />There comes some purifying sweet belief, <br />Some fellow-feeling beautiful, if brief. <br /> And life revives, and blossoms once again<br /><br />Emily Pauline Johnson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fire-flowers/
