Myrtle leaf, that ill besped <br />Pinest in the gladsome ray, <br />Soiled beneath the common tread <br />Far from thy protecting spray! <br /> <br />When the partridge o'er the sheaf <br />Whirred along the yellow vale, <br />Sad, I saw thee, heedless leaf! <br />Love the dalliance of the gale. <br /> <br />Lightly didst thou, foolish thing! <br />Heave and flutter to his sighs, <br />While the flatt'rer on his wing <br />Wooed and whispered thee to rise. <br /> <br />Gayly from thy mother stalk <br />Wert thou danced and wafted high; <br />Soon on this unsheltered walk <br />Flung to fade, to rot, and die!<br /><br />Samuel Taylor Coleridge<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-an-unfortunate-woman-whom-the-author-had-known-in-the-days-of-her-innocence/
