I entered a garden at midnight, Enticed by a rose at full bloom, Which was brimming with snow in the moonlight Like the frescoes incising a tomb. Next day there was droop to its stature As whiskery gray to life's reign, And next week, in the twilight of nature, My eyes sought its solace in vain. My heart at the memory shivered; An odor pervaded the air And I caught, where its beauty had quivered, A spirit still lingering there. |