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The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti

A variorum edition: Edited, with textual notes and introductions, by R. W. Crump

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Queen Rose.

The jessamine shows like a star;
The lilies sway like sceptres slim;
Fair clematis from near and far
Sets forth its wayward tangled whim;
Curved meadowsweet blooms rich and dim;—
But yet a rose is fairer far.
The jessamine is odorous; so
Maid lilies are, and clematis;
And where tall meadowsweet flowers grow
A rare and subtle perfume is;—
What can there be more choice than these?—
A rose when it doth bud and blow.
Let others choose sweet jessamine,
Or weave their lily crown aright,
And let who love it pluck and twine
Loose clematis; or draw delight
From meadowsweet's clustry downy white;—
The rose, the perfect rose be mine.