Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE ROSEBUSH AND THE TRINITY by ALFRED BARRETT

First Line: SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE / THOUGHT A MAN MIGHT SEE
Last Line: MORE ABOUT THE ROSE.

Saint John Damascene
Thought a man might see
The semblance of the Trinity,
The how and why of One and Three
(Father, Son and Holy Ghost)
In a rosebush most.
To-night I mean to walk
From book
To bower --
Intently look
At the paternal stalk
Lifting the filial flower --
Be aware
Of both of them,
Bloom and stem,
Before I see the bush or yet draw near it --
The rose's triune beauty finally share,
Led by its essence loosed upon the air,
As on our world is breathed the Holy Spirit!
I thank John Damascene
For pages that disclose
To me
(If not the Trinity)
More about the rose.



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