 | The poems of Thomas Bailey Aldrich |  |
DESTINY
Three roses, wan as moonlight and weighed down
Each with its loveliness as with a crown,
Drooped in a florist's window in a town.
Each with its loveliness as with a crown,
Drooped in a florist's window in a town.
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The first a lover bought. It lay at rest,
Like flower on flower, that night, on Beauty's breast.
Like flower on flower, that night, on Beauty's breast.
The second rose, as virginal and fair,
Shrunk in the tangles of a harlot's hair.
Shrunk in the tangles of a harlot's hair.
The third, a widow, with new grief made wild,
Shut in the icy palm of her dead child.
Shut in the icy palm of her dead child.
| The poems of Thomas Bailey Aldrich | |