Dirge for Aoine and other poems :: :: University of Virginia Library

If I had been a rose
And not a woman, would your feet have stayed
A moment in their passing, and in shade
That meeting boughs of lime and lilac made
Would you have stood, and softly touched my flower,
Making me redder, and breathèd in my dower
Of sweetness? Would you gather me, I wonder,
Or pass without a word, and leave me under
My shading leaves to watch my bloom grow dry.
Ah, would you have unkindly passed me by
If I had been a rose?

If I had been a rose,
You had been kinder than to leave me there,
Spilling my sweetness out, half in despair,
And half because remembering is so rare.
'Tis easy withering roses, even in June!
Too rough a wind-touch, or too bright a noon,
The red leaves drop and show the gold heart under
Past dream or daring, past desire or wonder.
Ah, yet be gentle though no rose am I!
My tears are in my heart—my heart were dry
If I had been a rose.