Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ROSES AND RUE, by OSCAR WILDE Poet's Biography First Line: I remember we used to meet Last Line: God's heaven and hell. Alternate Author Name(s): Finga, O'flahertie Wills Subject(s): Flowers; Roses | ||||||||
I I remember we used to meet By a garden seat, And you warbled each pretty word With the air of a bird, And your voice had a quaver in it Just like a linnet, And shook with the last full note As the thrush's throat. And your eyes, they were green and grey, Like an April day, But lit into amethyst When I stooped and kissed. And your hair -- well, I never could tie it, For it ran all riot Like a tangled sunbeam of gold, Great fold upon fold. II You were always afraid of a shower, (Just like a flower!); I remember you started and ran When the rain began. I remember I never could catch you, For no one could match you; You had wonderful luminous fleet Little wings to your feet. Yet you somehow would give me the prize, With a laugh in your eyes, The rose from your breast, or the bliss Of a single swift kiss On your neck with its marble hue, And its vein of blue -- How these passionate memories bite In my heart as I write! III I remember so well the room, And the lilac bloom That beat at the dripping pane, In the warm June rain. And the colour of your gown, It was amber-brown, And two little satin bows From your shoulders rose. And the handkerchief of French lace Which you held to your face -- Had a tear-drop left a stain? Or was it the rain? 'You have only wasted your life' -- (Ah! there was the knife!) Those were the words you said, As you turned your head. I had wasted my boyhood, true, But it was for you, You had poets enough on the shelf, I gave you myself! IV Well, if my heart must break, Dear Love, for you sake, It will break in music, I know; Poets' hearts break so. But strange that I was not told That the brain can hold In a tiny ivory cell God's Heaven and Hell. | 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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