The Ballad of the Quest is a collection of poems written by Virna Sheard. Sheard was a Canadian poet and novelist. Excerpt: "I love red poppies! Imperial red poppies! Sun-worshippers are they; Gladly as trees live through a hundred summers They live one little day. I love red poppies! Impassioned scarlet poppies! Even their strange perfume Seems like an essence brewed by fairy people, From an immortal bloom."