ROSEBUDS
Silken sachets of perfume
Swinging in the sunny breeze,
Viands in the banquet room
Of the butterflies and bees.
Swinging in the sunny breeze,
Viands in the banquet room
Of the butterflies and bees.
Dainty ladies velvet gowned,
Or in lustrous satin dressed;
Fairy pictures thus abound
Childish fancy might suggest.
Or in lustrous satin dressed;
Fairy pictures thus abound
Childish fancy might suggest.
Oh, the poor unsightly thing,
Dwarfed, distorted, early doomed
Is the bud so promising
That the dimpled fingers bloomed!
Dwarfed, distorted, early doomed
Is the bud so promising
That the dimpled fingers bloomed!
Dimpled fingers cannot wait
Till the tempting bud expands;
Sudden wonders they create,
Naughty, willful, active hands.
Till the tempting bud expands;
Sudden wonders they create,
Naughty, willful, active hands.
Folded petals pulled apart,
Crimson satin backward pressed;
Luckless blossom, what strange art
Bloomed you long before the rest?
Crimson satin backward pressed;
Luckless blossom, what strange art
Bloomed you long before the rest?
With your petals bruised and torn,
Only half your wonted size;
Weary, sad, and so forlorn,
What can your defects disguise?
Only half your wonted size;
Weary, sad, and so forlorn,
What can your defects disguise?
Like the children, "we'll be good,"
Patient, while God's purpose grows,
He who formed the baby-bud
Can alone perfect the rose.
Patient, while God's purpose grows,
He who formed the baby-bud
Can alone perfect the rose.
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