Page:Poems and ballads (IA poemsballads00swinrich).pdf/167

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

BEFORE THE MIRROR.

(verses written under a picture.)

inscribed to j. a. whistler.

I.

White rose in red rose-garden

⁠Is not so white;
Snowdrops that plead for pardon
⁠And pine for fright
Because the hard East blows
Over their maiden rows
⁠Grow not as this face grows from pale to bright.

Behind the veil, forbidden,
⁠Shut up from sight,
Love, is there sorrow hidden,
⁠Is there delight?
Is joy thy dower or grief,
White rose of weary leaf,
⁠Late rose whose life is brief, whose loves are light?

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.