The Solemn Rose

"I am a forest and a night of dark trees: but she who is not afraid of my darkness will find banks full of roses under my cypresses." -F. Nietzsche

Lo, but a rose so sweetly scented on its tips,

A fume so strong, it lingers gently on my lips.

The moonlight calmly glinting on its piercing hide,

A bed of razors; a warning in which to ascribe.

A dagger hence, for every scar,

Growing over every mar,

To brace this flower's beauty bold

From those whose grips are strong in hold.

With simple viewing from afar,

You can not see the pox and mar.

However deep they seem to run,

Still they stand to soak the sun,

Detracting not from strength of stem,

Nor from beauty of this gem.

Yet, to admire from away

Does injustice to the splay

Of darkly woven silken bends

That grow more vibrant as it mends.

So here I sit at water's edge,

Waxing towards this thorny pledge,

With quips of wonder in my brain.

Will a touch leave blood and pain?

Or should I venture from afar,

Dare not touch the pox and mar,

And thereby in a fearful state,

Risk injustice on my fate?

I suppose with time, the answer's clear,

and only if I shall draw near

To risk a touch with weathered hand,

Shall I know if I'm to stand

The barbs in which adorn the flower,

That tempts me so, this waning hour.

Reviews

[Fran Marie]

Profoundly sad piece.. yet so tenderly and beautifully penned is each verse..has a Shakespearean feel of sorrows seen and unseen. comes full circle waxing to wanning..this hurt rose stands alone .. to mend from past pain..best to admire from afar I'd would say..the daggers may still be sharp..great metaphors used in this heartfelt and soulful write..nice work..

[Annebelle Ashire]

I still my breath.
Hold tight the weathered.
Exhale the cradled aches of death.
In a strengthened effort to release the silken bends of blethered.
I find myself at water's edge,
Unsure and burning bright.
As peering towards the sunrise in a fledge
My lungs will falter no more, and I will leave behind the night.

[Dhara_Ditzy Kat]

There are two sides to a rose, aren't there? Just like there are two sides to life and love. A beautiful though sad poem with lovely metaphors, a worthy read.