With A Rose

By Charles Henry Webb

Lady, lest they should betray,
On thy lips this rose I lay.

Not its petals to surprise
With a hue that theirs outvies.

Not to shame them to confess
Fragrance of the Rose is less –

Only with a rose to seal
Rosebud lips, lest they reveal –

Faint unfolding, in their sleep –
What a rose’s heart should keep.

Eden since, no wizard knows
Spell that bindeth like the rose –

Flower of Love, the last to leave,
Bud that blossomed first for Eve.

With my rose for lock and key
None shall pick thy lips, pardie!

But to me if they unclose –
All is safe beneath the rose.

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