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the plucked rose
the crown of the garden
this elegant rose
whose petals were jewels
beguiling my nose
no blemish to tarnish
its fragrance-clad bed
no tarnish to blemish
no blood thereon bled
reluctant, departing
i go on my way
its honeyed breath clinging
the whole livelong day
returning, i pause for
another brief glance
at that little gem
which so made my heart dance
but dripping sad teardrops
and sighing in pain
an empty stalk bows
where my Rose used to reign…
© Copyright 1976/Modified 2019 January 20
by Clyve A. Bowen
Public link for visual version: http://mydo.cx/ZGQ1Zjll
this elegant rose
whose petals were jewels
beguiling my nose
no blemish to tarnish
its fragrance-clad bed
no tarnish to blemish
no blood thereon bled
reluctant, departing
i go on my way
its honeyed breath clinging
the whole livelong day
returning, i pause for
another brief glance
at that little gem
which so made my heart dance
but dripping sad teardrops
and sighing in pain
an empty stalk bows
where my Rose used to reign…
© Copyright 1976/Modified 2019 January 20
by Clyve A. Bowen
Public link for visual version: http://mydo.cx/ZGQ1Zjll
Published 20th Jan 2019
| Edited 21st Jan 2019
Author's Note
This is one of my earliest (just entering my 20s) poems. I wrote it after seeing someone admiring a beautiful rose and plucking it from the stem to get a good whiff of its fragrance. The person did not realise that plucking the rose was essentially killing it. As I watched the rose-deprived stem dripping its stain, I was inspired to memorialise my thoughts in words. I have modified the poem several times over the years, in a bid to refine it. Finally, in this version, I have addied a new stanza between the 1st and 3rd, to allow the persona to reflect on the beautiful rose a little longer before "reluctant(ly), departing (I) go(ing) on [his] way." The new stanza employs (in lines 1 and 3) the antimetabole, a literary device that involves repeating a phrase in reverse order.
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