 | Poems upon Several Occasions |  |
The Rose.
I
Seest thou this Flow'r my Dear, how fair it showsOp'ning its balmy Bosom, to receive
The lusty Morning-beams? A brisker Rose
No Place, except thy youthful Cheek can give.
II
The Sun, who in Aurora's purple ArmsThis Morning lay, yet early left his Bed
Drawn by this Rose's more inviting Charms,
T' unlock the Treasures of a sweeter Red.
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III
See how it smiles; and yet e'er Day pass by(This very Day which gave it first a Birth)
'Twill hang it's fainting Head, grow pale and die,
And shed its falling Honours on the Earth:
IV
And this thy Beauty's Emblem is, which nowIn Youth's fair Morning looks so fresh and gay;
But, ah! too short a Time the Fates allow;
Too soon comes Ev'ning and it fades away.
Since then your Reign such narrow limits bind,
Take Counsel of thy Fellow-flow'r, my Dear,
Which when it falleth, leaves a Seed behind,
Of all its Glories the undoubted Heir:
And by this Art, tho' in itself it die,
Lives ever in its hopeful Race and fair Posterity.
Take Counsel of thy Fellow-flow'r, my Dear,
Which when it falleth, leaves a Seed behind,
Of all its Glories the undoubted Heir:
And by this Art, tho' in itself it die,
Lives ever in its hopeful Race and fair Posterity.
| Poems upon Several Occasions | |