I. AS fairy like, thy bounding feet The joyful ground to music beat, Fair dancer! from thy garment fell This mimic rose I love so well. II. I snatch'd it up—I kiss'd—I prest The fallen treasure to my breast; Nor all the sweets of Eden's bower Should tempt me to resign this flower. III. Now let old Anacreon sing His darling rose, the pride of spring; To me more dear,—to me more sweet, Than nature's flower, this counterfeit. IV. Say'st thou that its leaves are dry? At night I'll fill the goblet high; And as the bowl to thee I drain, I'll sprinkle them with ruby rain. V. Tell me not the garden's rose With bloom inimitable glows; Rough winter comes with withering blast; Transient charm! behold it past. VI. Time shall ne'er these leaves invade; They ne'er shall fall—they ne'er shall fade; But, like the love I bear to thee, This rose shall bloom eternally! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SWALLOW FLIGHT by SARA TEASDALE THADDEUS STEVENS by PHOEBE CARY THE RIGHT MUST WIN by FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER STRANGE HURT [SHE KNOWS] by JAMES LANGSTON HUGHES BENEDICITE by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER |