Marsh Wound Wort. (Stachys Palustris.)

Marsh Wound Wort.
(Stachys Palustris.)
Good John Gerarde, our earliest botanist—
Whose name shines bright amongst those of the men
Who did adorn old England in days when
Wise Shakspere had got foremost in the list
Of her great dramatists—has told us that 5
A Kentish mower with his scythe had cut
Himself severely, and to the wound did put
Thy leaves of grease beat up; also with what
Potency it did heal it in a week.
Methinks that all the herbs sown so profuse 10
O’er all the earth, each have their proper use,
And we should study them with spirit meek,
To find in ev’ry weed on ev’ry sod
A blessing sent us from the hand of God.

George Markham Tweddell
[Sonnets on Trees and Flowers, p. 54]