A sea of foliage girds our garden round,
But not a sea of dull unvaried green,
Sharp contrasts of all colors here are seen;
The light-green graceful tamarinds abound
Amid the mango clumps of green profound,
And palms arise, like pillars gray, between;
And o'er the quiet pools the seemuls lean,
Red-red, and startling like a trumpet's sound.
But nothing can be lovelier than the ranges
Of bamboos to the eastward, when the moon
Looks through their gaps, and the white lotus changes
Into a cup of silver. One might swoon
Drunken with beauty then, or gaze and gaze
On a primeval Eden, in amaze.

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TORU DUTT (1856-1877) and her sister, Aru, were born in Bengal, but brought up in France. Both girls were poets, as was their father, Govind Dutt. Toru died of consumption at twenty-one; sadly, so did Aru. Beside her own poetry, Toru published a volume of translations--French into English--which included work by such noted writers as Victor Hugo.