On Roses (for You)

O N R O S E S*

(XI) [1]

Pray, query not why I should roses send;

Too well you know, for you what I do feel.

Fulfilling feeling fails itself to spend

In selffulfilment to silence prevail.

As potent verses I do fail compose,

Nor selfcomposure ample strength conjure

The which would match the measure of my cause

Or cause a measure to content endure

My aspiration's furtive mutiny,

These roses bring to you the muted tune,

By fragrance whisper love's sweet litany,

And prithee, hear their prayer as my own:

The withered petals did not bloom in vain

If blooming once, breathe they my soul's refrain!

 

(XII) [2]

Roses can only bloom, and fade, and die

If not for them who they with love behold

To whom their blushing radiance signify

The glory of life's story left untold:

Perhaps remembrance of good times remote,

Perhaps exuberance of wild desire,

Perhaps the forbearance of chance unsought,

Perchance the vengeance of unquenched fire;

Whether the mem'ries of stolen kisses

Or the faint traces of elusive dreams,

The agony of unfulfilled wishes

Or tyranny of once frustrated schemes,

To flowers that you find in every rose

Let blooming be of joys: fading, of woes!

 

(XIII) [3]

 

If in the roses flowers find you not

But malice on the tip of every thorn,

As thorny fetters are of mind begot

When fettered shutters shadowcast the dawn

To grace the night with gloomy corridors

Of wicked circumstance, then might the rose

Breathe forth the treasure of its silken purse

To shower fragrance for such mournful cause.

That yet the fragrance, thus diffused, may be,

Invigorate the air with force to thwart

The poignant langour of your apathy

And stir warm ember in your cold, cold heart:

Let roses fade, they're but token of love;

They, fading, feed that which they're token of !!!

 

* [New York City, 02/28/81 (1); 03/07/81 (2); 03/15/81 (3)]

{* * *}