The speaker has found a pansy hiding in a cool, soft garden spot and can’t stop admiring its deep blue face. She calls the flower’s petal a “velvet cheek” and repeats the word “blue” as if she’s sighing over how lovely it is. Then she compares it to louder flowers: the tiger lily’s bright orange and the rose’s glowing red. Those are fiery and showy, but they don’t match the pansy’s darker, quieter color. Even calling that blue a “gloom” doesn’t make it sound bad—it makes it sound calm, shadowy, and rich. The mood is gentle and thoughtful. The speaker clearly loves the pansy’s soft stillness more than the boldness of other garden flowers. It’s a small moment of noticing and treasuring something easy to overlook.
Pansy — Summary
Oh, the blue blue bloom On the velvet cheek Of the little pansy’s face That hides away so still and cool In some soft garden place! The tiger lily’s orange fires, The red lights from the rose Aren’t like the gloom on that blue cheek Of the softest flower that grows!