Queen Anne's Lace
Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has washed her lace
(She chose a summer's day)
And hung it in a grassy place
To whiten, if it may.
Queen Anne, Queen Anne, has left it there,
And slept the dewy night:
Then waked, to find the sunshine fair,
And all the meadows white.
Queen Anne, Queen Anne, is dead and gone
(She died a summer's day),
But left her lace to whiten on
Each weed-entangled way!
by Mary Leslie Newton
Silver Pennies, poetry compilation edited by Blanche Jennings Thompson
NY: Macmillan, 1930.
I love Queen Anne's Lace even though I know it is a weed. When I was little, before I knew what it was called, I always thought of it as "Grits Flower" because the collection of tiny white flowerlets reminded me of looking down into a bowl of grits! When I was a kid, sometimes Mom let me put food coloring in a vase of Queen Anne's Lace, dying them soft colors. During my college days I wandered into a used book store and found the worn little collection of nature poems that contained the verses above. I loved the Queen Anne's Lace poem and promptly memorized it. While working at a daycare during those years, I used to recite it sometimes to the kids. Still, I was baffled one day when a wee girl emphatically asked me to sing the "Sunshine Fairy Song." It finally dawned on me that she was talking about this poem! It does have a sing-song rhythm to it.
Queen Anne of England was born in 1665 and indeed died on a summer's day -- August 1, 1714. The flower named for her is related to the carrot. Read more HERE.
#7 -- Early Evening Light
#8 -- Rainy Evening
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#10 -- Baseball Game
#11 -- Wadin' in the Creek
I've always loved Queen Anne's Lace too! Your photos of it here are beautiful! When I was young, while playing "jungle girls," my friends and I would pull wild carrots and wild onions for our "meals."
Posted by: Mandi | 06 June 2014 at 12:35 PM
Funny, Mandi!
Posted by: Valerie J. Frey | 06 June 2014 at 01:40 PM