One Damask Rose
A token of lost love I found inside
A dusty book; one long-stemmed, damask rose,
Which I had laid to rest the day I chose
To walk away and be another’s bride.
The fragile petals lay against the leaves
As once I lay close to your beating heart,
Believing those who love could never part
Or cause each other everlasting grief.
Untouched by loving hands it slowly died
And, though a blush of colour still remains,
The swelling sap has withered in its veins
And summer’s silken flesh has aged and dried.
You find me now in dreams when no one knows,
And place within my hands a damask rose
Maureen Jeffs, Poet and Writer 