The Guernsey Lily: Amaryllis Sarniensis

Far in the East, and long to us unknown,
A lily bloom'd, of colours quaint and rare ;
Not like our lilies, white, and dimly fair,
But clad like Eastern monarch on his throne.
A ship there was by stress of tempest blown,
And wreck'd on beach, all sandy, flat and bare ; —
The storm-god bated of his rage to spare
The queenly flower, foredoom'd to be our own.
The Guernsey fisher, seeking what the sea
Had stolen to aid his hungry poverty,
Starts to behold the stranger from afar.
And wonders what the gorgeous thing might be.
That like an unsphered and dejected star
Gleam'd in forlorn and mateless majesty.