To a Rose Outside My Window
a poem from summer mornings
Red rose growing just outside my window —
Petals all aswirl in crimson velvet,
Half a hundred blooms to meet the morning —
Greet me as you greet the summer sunshine
For I scarcely understand the friendship,
How a rose and I make friends together,
Each with each rejoice in summer’s bounty;
Thus the two of us have made a garden.
Roses just beneath my earnest fingers,
Leaves of red and green that brightly mirror
Back the sun and light the velvet petals
Which perfume the air of passing summer —
See, I touch your faces and I’m smiling,
One with you and with the scented season;
Bright we smile while the sun is shining,
Thus the two of us have made a garden.
Rose, you glow with all your gentle wisdom;
Here we love the sun that brings us greeting,
And from you I learn to bless the raindrops
Falling on our faces half-uplifted;
Only let there be no hail or blight here,
When the loss brings longing of deep sorrow;
Only dwell in passing of the season;
Thus…
