An Unconventional Valentine

Let me contrast you with a rose in bloom Whose unfurled buds exude a sweet perfume. Eternal token of romantic zeal On lease from heaven with a loving seal. You, in comparison, with beard untrimmed, Complexion florid and your vision dimmed, Have no external beauty to extol; Possession of long life must take its toll. Not always temperate your moods break through And like a rose you can be prickly too. But though a shade of what you used to be, You're worth your weight in gold to me! 16.08.19 'A summer's day re-do poetry contest sponsored by Michelle Faulkner (obligatory words used : temperate, buds, lease, possession, heaven, complexion, eternal, gold, untrimmed, shade)