O, gather me the rose
O, gather me the rose, the rose,
. . . . . .While yet in flower we find it,
For summer smiles, but summer goes,
. . . . . .And winter waits behind it!
For with the dream foregone, foregone,
. . . . . .The deed forborne for ever,
The worm, regret, will canker on,
. . . . . .And time will turn him never.
So well it were to love, my love,
. . . . . .And cheat of any laughter
The death beneath us and above,
. . . . . .The dark before and after.
The myrtle and the rose, the rose,
. . . . . .The sunshine and the swallow,
The dream that comes, the wish that goes,
. . . . . .The memories that follow!
by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)
Photo by Christine Klocek-Lim
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