To The Rose

When I was young unquestioning the days

The trellised roses garlanded our home

And though I've travelled long the errant ways

Many are my dreams of that red dome.

I breathed their fragrance as I breathed my food

In hurried gulps and she so laughingly

Rained petals on my innocence. I stood

Beneath her glow as on a sunset sea.

The roses of my childhood now are gone

And loved ones lie at rest beneath the stars

My quest for the rose of soul continues on

And though the thorns of fate have left deep scars

I the crown of rose shall one day wear

Surrendered to my God as she the fair.