Poems (Jackson)/A Wild Rose in September
A WILD ROSE IN SEPTEMBER.
WILD red rose, what spell has stayed Till now thy summer of delights?Where hid the south wind when he laid His heart on thine, these autumn nights?O wild red rose! Two faces glow At sight of thee, and two hearts shareAll thou and thy south wind can know Of sunshine in this autumn air.
O sweet wild rose! O strong south wind! The sunny roadside asks no reasonsWhy we such secret summer find, Forgetting calendars and seasons!
Alas! red rose, thy petals wilt; Our loving hands tend thee in vain;Our thoughtless touch seems like a guilt; Ah, could we make thee live again!
Yet joy, wild rose! Be glad, south wind! Immortal wind! immortal rose!Ye shall live on, in two hearts shrined, With secrets which no words disclose.