 | Stories that might be true |  |
133
THE LAMENT OF THE ROSE.
[_]
Founded upon a Fable of Herder's, in which the Rose is represented as complaining that, while all flowers around her alike fade and wither, she alone has been selected by mankind as the type of fragility and evanescence.
“All flowers around me fade! I see them die!
They wither from the earth, and leave no trace
To breathe the sweetness of a day gone by,
Or tell of vanished loveliness and grace!
They wither from the earth, and leave no trace
To breathe the sweetness of a day gone by,
Or tell of vanished loveliness and grace!
“This grass was thick with Vi'lets; at my feet
They sighed, with Spring, their gentle souls away:
The wind that wandered from the West was sweet,
But the bright Summer came, and where were they?
They sighed, with Spring, their gentle souls away:
The wind that wandered from the West was sweet,
But the bright Summer came, and where were they?
“Upon this mossy bank a sudden shower
Falls—with the breeze; the fragile Cystus flings
Her snows, the glory of a Summer hour
Shook down, and numbered with forgotten things.
Falls—with the breeze; the fragile Cystus flings
Her snows, the glory of a Summer hour
Shook down, and numbered with forgotten things.
140
“Not she alone; the Sunflower, that above
Hath constant fixed her broad and lidless eye,
Hangs all her golden head, smit through with love,
With love that may not hope, and can but die!
Hath constant fixed her broad and lidless eye,
Hangs all her golden head, smit through with love,
With love that may not hope, and can but die!
“But e'en the Valley-Lily, from the sun
Enshrouded in her cool, dark, glossy leaf,
Hath withered there in silence, like a nun
That folds her veil above some hidden grief.
Enshrouded in her cool, dark, glossy leaf,
Hath withered there in silence, like a nun
That folds her veil above some hidden grief.
“Mourn not, sweet children! even I, your Queen,
Hath felt a thrill, the presage of decay,
Steal through my leaves—the Being, that hath been
A dream of blessedness, must pass away!
Hath felt a thrill, the presage of decay,
Steal through my leaves—the Being, that hath been
A dream of blessedness, must pass away!
“We have one Destiny, one Lord, the Sun;
We feel our souls drawn from us thro' the kiss
That woke us first from nothing: one by one
We offer up our lives, a death of bliss.
We feel our souls drawn from us thro' the kiss
That woke us first from nothing: one by one
We offer up our lives, a death of bliss.
“But ye, unthinking race, for whom I strove
All beauty, sweetness, into one to blend,
To shed around your path the light of love;
How have ye dealt with her that was your friend?
All beauty, sweetness, into one to blend,
To shed around your path the light of love;
How have ye dealt with her that was your friend?
141
“Ye look upon me—little doth avail
The hue that trembling to my heart-leaf glows;
With me ye number all things fleet and frail;
Ye say ‘the vanishing, the fading Rose!’
The hue that trembling to my heart-leaf glows;
With me ye number all things fleet and frail;
Ye say ‘the vanishing, the fading Rose!’
“And yet my brief, my transitory stay
Was long enough to bless you with its breath;
Yours was the gentle glory of my day,
My after-sweetness lingering in death.”
Was long enough to bless you with its breath;
Yours was the gentle glory of my day,
My after-sweetness lingering in death.”
A maiden, passing, hearkened to the Flower;
She wore the summer rose, but in her eyes
Abode the light of many a thoughtful hour,—
The dewy light of tender memories.
She wore the summer rose, but in her eyes
Abode the light of many a thoughtful hour,—
The dewy light of tender memories.
“Chide not, sweet Rose,” she said, “all flow'rets die;
The dews weep o'er them, but we make no moan;
They have fulfilled their gentle destiny,—
Lived out their happy life, and they are gone.
The dews weep o'er them, but we make no moan;
They have fulfilled their gentle destiny,—
Lived out their happy life, and they are gone.
“But thou, their Queen, we mourn thy fleeting stay;
In that we treasure thee thy peers above;
The fairest, dearest, would we keep alwày,
And wish thy Beauty changeless as our Love!
In that we treasure thee thy peers above;
The fairest, dearest, would we keep alwày,
And wish thy Beauty changeless as our Love!
142
“Yet more! we link, we cherish with thy smile
The thought of vanished loveliness and grace,
That blest us with their sweetness for a while,
Then pass'd away from earth and left no trace;
The thought of vanished loveliness and grace,
That blest us with their sweetness for a while,
Then pass'd away from earth and left no trace;
“Sweet flower! we see the Rose of Life decay,
The leaves of Youth, of Hope, of Gladness close,
And fall like thine to earth. Yes! then we say—
‘Alas! the fair, the quickly-fading Rose!’”
The leaves of Youth, of Hope, of Gladness close,
And fall like thine to earth. Yes! then we say—
‘Alas! the fair, the quickly-fading Rose!’”
| Stories that might be true | |