AMBERGRIS 
105 
 
 
 
OTHER LOVE SONGS 
 
Rose 
 
Rose on the breast of the world of spring, 
I press my breast against thy bloom, 
My subtle life drawn out to thee :  to thee its moods 
and meanings cling. 
I pass from change and thought to peace, woven on 
love’s incredible loom, 
Rose on the breast of the world of spring ! 
How shall the heart dissolved in joy take form and 
harmony and sing ? 
 
How shall the ecstasy of light fall back to music’s 
magic gloom ? 
O China rose without a thorn, O honey-bee with-
out a sting ! 
 
The scent of all thy beauty burns upon the wind.  
The deep perfume 
Of our own love is hidden in our hearts, the invul-
nerable ring. 
No man shall know.  I bear thee down unto the tomb, 
beyond the tomb, 
Rose on the breast of the world of spring !