Consider the Rose

So young and promising in her bud            

Small and barely fragrant

Tightly closed, she holds her perfume back

And hides her secret splendor deep inside

Untrusting and unsure while sunlight glows

Is the birth of love within a rose

But somehow when the darkened shadows fall

She now unfolds in petals soft and sweet

And, like an offering, blossoms more and more

Exposing hidden beauty, fragrance rare

Living for another, not for self

Gives of her fragrance having count'd the cost

To reach her peak of loveliness sublime

She has not yet begun to suffer loss

For there remains something far greater still

Yes, outward beauty is itself so brief

A shallow offering even at its best

And so, unfolding more the rose goes on

Although her beauty fades with each release

And slowly treasured petals fall away

Her splendor lies in soft folds at her feet

Unlovely now to those who pass her by

Except the One who watched her from the start

Who sees her love transparent ‑ free at last

Completely unadorned, she gives her all

Her trembling heart alone ‑ exposed stands there

The deepest secret of her love... laid bare

And so, Beloved, is my love for you

Tho darkness came to try it very sore

And youthful beauty faded all the more

And "petals" fell around me at my feet

My heart so full unfolded and lay bare

My offering to you ‑ a place to dwell

Eternal and forever yours to share

This path is not at all what I'd have chose

But in me lives the secret of the rose