Flint

Flint

By Christina Rossetti

An emerald is as green as grass,
A ruby red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;
A flint lies in the mud.
 
A diamond is a brilliant stone,
To catch the world’s desire;
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds a fire.

Analysis

This poem is about how precious stones are beautiful but are not equally as helpful as a flint can be. The theme is sometimes the most ordinary things can be the most useful things. There are two stanzas and there is no rhyme scheme. There are similes in line 1 "as green as grass," line 2 "red as blood," line 3 "shines as blue as heaven," and there is an allusion in line 3 "heaven."