Young leaves grow green on the banyan twigs.

And red on the peepu! tree,

The honey-birds pipe to the budding figs,

And honey-blooms call to the bee

Poppies squander their fragile gold

In the silvery aloe-brake;

Coral and ivory lilies unfold

Their delicate lives on the lake.

Kingfishers ruffle the feathery sedge,

And all the vivid air thrills

With butterfly-wings in the wild-rose hedge.

And the luminous blue of the hills.

Sarojini Naidu was born in 1879 in Hyderabad. She was an Indian political activist and a poet. She was an important figure in India's struggle for independence. She is fondly remembered as the 'Nightingale of India'. She wrote poems for children as well as for adults. Some of her famous poems are 'In the Bazaars of Hyderabad', 'Life', 'Coromandel Fishers', and 'Indian Weavers'.

1. squander: (here) shed
2. sedge: a grasslike plant with very small flowers