THE MYSTIC ROSE

by: Elsa Barker (1869-1954)

      , WOMAN, am that wonder-breathing rose
      That blossoms in the garden of the King.
      In all the world there is no lovelier thing,
      And the learned stars no secret can disclose
      Deeper than mine--that almost no one knows.
      The perfume of my petals in the spring
      Is inspiration to all bards that sing
      Of love, the spirit’s lyric unrepose.
       
      Under my veil is hid the mystery
      Of unaccomplished aeons, and my breath
      The Master-Lover’s life replenisheth.
      The mortal garment that is worn by me
      The loom of Time renews continually;
      And when I die--the universe knows death.

"The Mystic Rose" is reprinted from The Oxford book of English mystical verse. Ed. D.H.S. Nicholson. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1917.

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