Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SPECTURE OF THE ROSE, by THEOPHILE GAUTIER Poet's Biography First Line: Those marble-lidded eyes unclose, / wake from thy sleep's angelic trance! Last Line: "e'en kings might envy for its bliss!" Alternate Author Name(s): Theo, Le Bon Subject(s): Flowers; Roses | ||||||||
Those marble-lidded eyes unclose, Wake from thy sleep's angelic trance! I am the Spectre of a Rose That decked thy beauty in the dance. Thy fingers plucked me from my stem Wet with the dews of yester e'en And thou didst wear me, like a gem, Amid the ball-room's dazzling scene. My life's brief summer thou didst blight My ghost away thou canst not chase: 'Twill flit untiring all the night Around thy softly-pillowed face. I claim no masses for my death, No De Profundis slowly wailed: My spirit is a fragrant breath From Paradise itself exhaled. Torn from the world, I did not sigh, Nor could thy fondest lovers crave A happier death than mine to die Thy snow-white bosom was my grave: And on that alabaster tomb A Poet wrote, with loving kiss: "Here lies a Rose, whose early doom E'en kings might envy for its bliss!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WHISPER OF THE ROSE by EDMUND JOHN ARMSTRONG THE WISDOM OF THE ROSE by ELSA BARKER LOVE PLANTED A ROSE by KATHARINE LEE BATES ROSES; A VILANELLE by LOUISA SARAH BEVINGTON THE PAINTER ON SILK by AMY LOWELL VARIATIONS: 17 by CONRAD AIKEN WORDS IN A CERTAIN APPROPRIATE MODE by HAYDEN CARRUTH |
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