Seal of a fallen rose sinks
Sinks and disappears without a dose
Dose of herbs and plants that grow on the ground
Ground that breeds and breaks without a sound
Sound of a soul harrowing in pain
Pain of filched memories of the haunted
Haunted by a ripper in the eyes of its watchers...
(Tailgating poetry)
A bittersweet taste of isolation grips
while ambling into our unlit attic,
escorted by a window's glassy beam ...
And I notice a disarray
of your keepsakes...history books,
stale cigars, antiques In fluted trunk
all muddily undone:
Somehow, clouds turn deep violet
where I uncover a file of private notes
intimate as your very skin, your breath
marking our years' affectionate episodes--
Till my dire soliloquy, my ached calls
hide beneath an ocean of black stars ,
recalling now, your gentle caresses
that I wake within the rose wilderness
of your arms...forlorn:
Tonight, I fetch a Sauvignon
warming a rainy October dusk --
yet a mirage of sirens greets me
deafened by Fate's ending I cannot hold,
this room swallowing me
In total vaqueness as my lungs pine
for your name I can only hear...
I beseech the sun to undress
the stars, but could my plea
be more strong than theiving time?
How midnight groans like a widow for this loss.
I had wandered in
~the wilderness of want,~
searching for what or who
might slaughter
my shadows of desolation,
for everywhere I turned,
silhouettes of ghastly gloom
crept up on me,
seeking to swallow my spirit
whole.
Beyond the towering pines,
I chanced to spy
a clearing of lush green grass
and thriving thickets
of woods’ roses.
I imagined their
blushing petals
against my craving skin
and their beauty
filling up my soul.
How I yearned to ~wake
within the rose wilderness.~
and to be touched by
the source of the light
which shone down
all around
and now . . .
I have abandoned
the wilderness of want!
No sinister shadows lurk here
where I’m abiding.
Peace illuminates
this place
where I breathe
sweet blossomed perfume.
Heady with hope,
I revel in reverencing
a radiance
of perfect pearlescence.
In this mid autumn,
I could not imagine to see
Cute roses and flowers,
In uninhabited desert area
In its natural condition
But, that what had happened!
Wonderful neat surprise!
Through grey rainfall,
The rose cannot see the sun,
But time still calls
And alone it must grow on.
Yet shrouded in the shadow
Of grim well-worn roads,
Stars shine bright,
Their gold light,
On a lone budding rose.
The sun casts red upon the myriad dead,
The heavens die, departing shadowed shades;
The bloody duty’s done, but what ahead?
For prosp'rous peace rests not on sharpened blades.
And "Cincinnatus!", some now cry, "Be king!
To lead in peace, as you have led in war!"
But this a thing no friend of Rome should bring,
For army rule is not what Rome is for.
O, well enough, I know how well to lead,
But in my shadow, how could roses grow?
My absence is the thing that Romans need,
For in the sun, shall Rome itself best know.
Let others sharpen wits, for good or harm,
I'll sharpen plows, upon my humble farm.
ROSE BLACK
Passing here
I chanced a rose
Sadly stilled
Her will to grow
Her petals feared
The touch of those
Who wanted more
Than She could show
She shunned the Sun
Bowed Her head
Her thorns warned
A scratch of red
She'd not be sheared
For bouquets thrown
Braided wreaths
The honored dead
She wanted life
As She so chose
To love and grieve
Black
As a rose
Biting cold night
Tears on a rose
Her petals turn gray
Death sucks her life away
She stands alone in feeling
No one knows her secret cries
She has shed away her hopes
Her beautiful soul holds memories
Of times sunshine kissed her face
Now darkness swamps her world
On the grave where they have laid her to rest
Water splashes
up from the river
Fresh blossomed rose
gets startled
Waves spread along
the roots and stems
Intent to turn into
the tidal river
8 September 2026
I brought a lone red rose for you today.
I thought not to bring a glass and water.
We do not have much time here anyway.
I guessed it would be wise not to bother.
You would not want to pack a dozen more.
It would be a waste to leave them behind.
A bundle is often is hard to adore.
A rose by herself will forever shine.
I set the rose on the empty table
To lay alone with a simple grace.
It is the only way I am capable
Of giving your heart the proper embrace.
I brought a rose to celebrate your birthday.
As the years pass, I come to love you so.
The rose is a gift in my humblest way,
To return the love you have always shown.
If love etched on
gemmed, rose, alabaster
it will be full of
sonorous blissfulness
, like a dreamlike lily.
The Number's Game Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Nette Onclaud
8/31/2026
An Ounce Of Tears —
as breakfast comes out, strain eye-disaster.
disappear, once oval girl,
to rose on china cup.
War over, the dust settled.
They thought they annihilated all the beauty.
Lone rose stood its ground.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 2nd place 2026
In the genial glassiness of the glazed conservatory
the jade in the green of the jasmine yellows;
geraniums, plumbago, bougainvillaea on the wall
let go on the hold of their precious flowers;
only this rose persists and stands tall.
Flowers fade, but love forever endures.
She didn't walk the way the world expected
None could guess what storm she had weathered
She moved and moved and never stopped
And her every footstep was strong and bold.
With a body that has carved its own battles
Adversity could not shake her firmness
She carried none of its sting and bitterness
But joyfully shared only smiles and sweetness.
While we speak of limits and constraints
She spoke of immense possibilities
Always exploring her potentialities
And lived them as graceful entities.
She refused any act of sympathy
And spurned faint token of empathy
All the time stood firmly saying no to pity
Predictably preferred the ground of dignity.
Legacy of self-dependency and dignity she sowed.
In her life journey all along, she has proved
That Power and strength are not measured
in strides but in the grit and spirit imbued.
Rose Categories
Read wonderful rose poetry on the following sub-topics:
beautiful, black, death, for her, for him, funeral, life, love, red, rhyme, romantic, sad, white, woman
and more.
Definition | What is Rose in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.