The Last Rose of Summer

I have a little notebook where I copy favorite passages from books I've read, poems, verses, famous quotes, etc. I've kept it up for 7 years now, so it has become a rather varied collection, but of course, many of them have to do with flowers and gardens! My last rose of summer is "The Fairy". I cut it and brought it inside after taking these pictures, because I was afraid it would freeze overnight. There are still some buds on the bush, but I doubt they will have time to open now. I suppose almost everyone is familiar with this beautiful poem by Thomas Moore...

​'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?

---

And then there is Ebenezer Elliott's "On a Rose in December"...

Stay yet, pale flower, though coming storms will tear thee,
​My soul grows darker, and I cannot spare thee.