An early rose
Dances the garden
On ballerina toes
And comes as quickly
As thou hath come to be
In meadows of memory
Under showers of melody
A symphony of swirl and swash
Of petals and notes afloat
The breezes of time
Riding the echoes
Of a nursery rhyme
For when we were
A wee bit girl and boy,
Amid the twirl of blossoms furl,
I sought back then
To be thy beau
For which reason
I did not know
Until my season
As a young man came,
Flush and warm across my brow,
Searching crowds for you,
And yet not knowing how
To navigate upon the seas of chance
And while standing firm
Within the bow,
We passed as ships, star-crossed
Upon the waters of the night,
And yet, now every year,
As the red of rosebuds’
Brilliant bright against the snow
Winter’s dance with Spring
Shall set thy heart’s bud
Burst in glimmer glow
For always my hope will be
Thou come to know
I cared for thee
As April's rain
Will come to show
How wet and sweet
The roses grow.
