The Rose

O rose, thou art the hue of dreams, Of silent symphonies that breathe, Within your petals dwell the depths Of every heart laid bare in time.

Did you know of the swaying shadows In secret corners where the moonlight plays, And of the morning, dew-kissed and fair, That charms the grief from an aging night?

You bloom within our lost embraces, A stillness wrapped in verdant shade, Oh, leave us not to wander blind, For you are light, and heart, and song.

• Rainer Maria Rilke