Edna St. Vincent Millay: The Poet Who Blossomed Among the Flowers
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
February 22, 1892
Dearest Gardeners,
Today we celebrate the birth of Edna St. Vincent Millay (books by this author), that American lyrical poet and playwright whose verses have become as cherished as the very blooms they so vividly evoke.
Her words dance lightly on the garden breeze, capturing the whimsy and poetry of spring's arrival:
“April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.”
“I would blossom if I were a rose.”
“I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!”
“I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.”
But there is one tender, lesser-known gem among her works, published after her passing, that I find particularly moving.
The poem "If It Should Rain" offers a gentle meditation on patience, the rhythm of the garden, and the quiet resilience we sometimes need on the most challenging days.
It is said that the actress Kathleen Chalfant’s dear friend Sloane Shelton would recite its final lines before sleep, a soothing mantra for the soul:
If it should rain --(the sneezy moon
Said: Rain)--then I shall hear it soon
From shingles into gutters fall...
And know of what concerns me, all:
The garden will be wet till noon--
I may not walk-- my temper leans
To myths and legends--through the beans
Till they are dried-- lest I should spread
Diseases they have never had.
I hear the rain: it comes down straight.
Now I can sleep, I need not wait
To close the windows anywhere.
Tomorrow, it may be, I might
Do things to set the whole world right.
There's nothing I can do tonight.
This humble ode to rainy nights reminds us that sometimes, even in the quietest moments of waiting—and even amid the dampness and chill—there is peace, renewal, and hope. Edna invites us to rest, to let go, and to trust that tomorrow’s garden will bloom anew, full of possibility.
So, dear readers, let these verses be your companion on those gray days when the soil is muddy and spirits are low. Take heart in her words and remember: the garden, like the soul, thrives best when given time to rest and nurture its roots.
