IN the bound of mine own enclosure The flowers are fair to see; But the rose in my neighbor's garden Is fairer than all to me. So white and slender and stately, So gemmed with sparkling dew, This rose that blooms for another, Is the sweetest ever that grew. My heart to its grace and beauty Goes forth as to a shrine; And I sigh to its mystical fragrance— "If it were only mine!" And yet if not my neighbor, But I, in fee and thrall, Held all that marvellous glory On the other side of the wall, I might, perhaps, grow weary Of its royal pomp and grace, And love with my love some daisy With a shy, uplifted face. For since the gates of Eden Were shut on Adam and Eve, The flowers we have are never So sweet as the flowers we leave; And rich within my garden Though many a flower might be, The rose that bloomed for another Might seem the best to me. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LE MEDECIN MALGRE LUI by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS STANZAS WRITTEN ON THE ROAD BETWEEN FLORENCE AND PISA by GEORGE GORDON BYRON HOW'S MY BOY? by SYDNEY THOMPSON DOBELL A FRIEND'S SONG FOR SIMOISIUS by LOUISE IMOGEN GUINEY AN ELEGIE, OR FRIENDS PASSION, FOR HIS ASTROPHILL by MATTHEW ROYDEN TO NIGHT by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY |