Marigold

A name the sweetest said or sung
In any land, in any tongue;
Borne by the peasant and the queen;
In Holy Writ ’tis often seen.

A potent cause of love or hate;
Umpire of fortune and of fate;
A dross, a curse, a slave, a toy;
All men this tyrant’s yoke enjoy.

Yet sacred name and gilded snare
Together form a flower fair;
Its glowing blossoms court the sun
Till autumn’s bounteous reign is done.