The Rose Garden

Written
1992

 I'm sorry madam the white roses

       are not doing well.

It may be that the fertilizer

      was too rich.

Or maybe there was too much

      salt and sand in the water.

I am trying to get them back in shape.

I want to give you a

       bouquet of white roses

       as soon as possible.

No greater gift could I give you.

I will make the growing

       of these white roses my life work.

They are the flower of St. Joan,

      my patron saint.

Oh, the red roses have thrived.

They are more red than ever.

The dew drops on the pedals

       are rubies of the finest cut.

They will last well as cut flowers,

      opening wider each day.

Red roses seem to like

      the salt and sand.

For today,

      I  give you a big bunch of red roses.

They celebrate my feelings for you.

They are the flower of Eden

       colored for the fruit of the garden. 

Of course, the yellow roses are

       especially nice again this year.

They seem to prosper

      when grown in difficulty.

And these have

      a touch of red on the yellow.

They are the longest

       lasting of the roses

      and the most hearty.

When all other roses fail,

       the yellows will be there.

Yellow roses are

      the flower of the library bench.

They go with oak and book leather.

They are better this year than the whites.

If I could but grow white roses

        to match the reds and yellows.

With the help of Saint Joan,

       I will have a banner crop

       another time soon.

I'm sorry that this has been

        a bad year for whites.

 

 

 

 

 

Notes
I did have a bad year with my white roses. They developed a rust. The yellow roses grow like weeds.