Like A Rose

You, a friend, are like a rose.
There may be some thorns,
A little mildew at times.
But your inner sweetness glows,
And your smile lights up the day.
Just as rose petals unfurl,
To make a perfect flower,
A flower which freely gives
Its innermost sweet perfume;
Like a many splendored jewel,
You are like a shining star.
You, my friend, are like a rose.

                               By Ralph S. Moore

October Garden by Christina Rossetti

With Autumn comes the vibrant display of majestic color of fall.  The roses will be blooming again for their final glory.  I share my sentiment with Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) during the rose’s final display.

In my Autumn garden I was fain

To mourn among my scattered roses,

Alas for that last rosebud that uncloses

To Autumn’s languid sun and rain

When all the world is on the wane!

Which has not felt the sweet constraint of June,

Nor heard the nightingale in tune.

Broad-faced asters by my garden walk,

You are but coarse compared with roses:

More choice, more dear that rosebud which uncloses,

Faint-scented, pinched, upon its stalk,

That least and last which cold winds balk;

A rose it is though least and last of all,

A rose to me though at the fall.

God's Garden

This is my favorite garden decoration. I had one in NY (below) and I just bought the one above for my present garden. 

I do feel nearer to God when I’m in the garden. I feel relaxed and forget about anything else. I’m in my own little world. I’m happiest when I’m out there working the soil and enjoying my plants.

THE Lord God planted a garden

In the first white days of the world,

And He set there an angel warden

In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,

That the hawk might nest with the wren,

For there in the cool of the even

God walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden closes

With their shade and their sun-flecked sod

And their lilies and bowers of roses,

Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,

The song of the birds for mirth, –

One is nearer God's heart in a garden

Than anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a garden

Under the olive-trees

Where the angel of strength was the warden

And the soul of the world found ease.

                                             

                                  By Dorothy Frances Gurney

Love, Friendship and Rose

My rose friend and mentor, the late Grace Tedesco.

Love is like the wild rose-briar;
Friendship like the holly-tree.
The holly is dark when the rose-briar blooms,
But which will bloom most constantly?

By Emily Bronte

The Rose and the Tall Dark Tree

Once bloomed a rose so young and fair

With dark brown eyes and long black hair



Beside her be a tall dark tree

Whose branches stretch to smother thee



Too close beside the shadowy bark

That soon begins to leave its mark



She cries for help, but none shall hear

Her thorns too sharp, who’d dare go near?



To save this rose, who’d risk their life?

With naught to gain but pain and strife



Alone, afraid, she lays to rest

Her heart beats low inside her chest



And with the hour growing near

She sheds her final grieving tear



And so the rose soon falls asunder

Her final day, eternal slumber



She lies beside the old dark tree

The only one who mourns for thee.



                             Nina Hernandez, 2010

A Little Budding Rose

Powerhouse - a MiniFlora Rose

It was a little budding rose,

Round like a fairy globe,

And shyly did its leaves unclose

Hid in their mossy robe,

But sweet was the slight and spicy smell

It breathed from its heart invisible.



The rose is blasted, withered, blighted,

Its root has felt a worm,

And like a heart beloved and slighted,

Failed, faded, shrunk its form.

Bud of beauty, bonnie flower,

I stole thee from thy natal bower.



I was the worm that withered thee,

Thy tears of dew all fell for me;

Leaf and stalk and rose are gone,

Exile earth they died upon,

Yes, that last breath of balmy scent

With alien breezes sadly blent!

                                                Emily Bronte

                                                1818-1848

Rose Verse - Roses Speak

Roses Speak



Something deep in the heart of a rose

Is tender beyond compare

Like the first blush of dawn or a baby’s yawn

It touches hearts everywhere.



Though mute, they inspire compassion

In a gentle way all their own . . .

Imagine a world without roses

Or a place where no roses are grown!



If roses spoke for the people,

The world would have peace overnight

Nothing to solve, or bargain,

But a rosy world, blooming bright!



                                By Marge Powell

Sun City, Arizona

American Rose Annual 1968