Forgive Me Rose

Forgive me rose, I love the peony

And iris held in my beloved's hands

And I have other paramours as well,

Not kin to thee but of the heat-filled lands.

Excuse me rose, I seem impertinent

To dare comparison with your perfume

But in my heart I hold the jasmine fair

And breathed the scented lily in full bloom.

But you are perfect rose, divine in hues

Whose royal fragrances with gods can vie,

I cannot pass without due compliment

And hold you now, queen of earth and sky.