The Rose
By Henry W. Nevinson
(A mediæval citizen speaks)
Stephen, clerk of Oxford town,
Oh, the weary while he lies,
Wrapt in his old college gown,
Burning, burning till he dies!
And 'tis very surely said,
He shall burn when he is dead,
All aflame from foot to head.
Stephen said he knew a rose
One and two, yea, roses three
Lovelier far than any those
Which at service-time we see,
Emblems of atonement done,
And of Christ's belovèd One,
And of Mary's mystic Son.
Stephen
