(For Katherine Bregy)

I went to gather roses and twine them in a ring,
For I would make a posy, a posy for the King.
I got an hundred roses, the loveliest there be,
From the white rose vine and the pink rose bush and from the red
rose tree.
But when I took my posy and laid it at His feet
I found He had His roses a million times more sweet.
There was a scarlet blossom upon each foot and hand,
And a great pink rose bloomed from His side for the healing of the
land.
Now of this fair and awful King there is this marvel told,
That He wears a crown of linked thorns instead of one of gold.
Where there are thorns are roses, and I saw a line of red,
A little wreath of roses around His radiant head.
A red rose is His Sacred Heart, a white rose is His face,
And His breath has turned the barren world to a rich and flowery
place.
He is the Rose of Sharon, His gardener am I,
And I shall drink His fragrance in Heaven when I die.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Joyce Kilmer's poem Roses

4 Comments

  1. kelsea says:

    wow he was a good poet. His words are powerful and mean somthing
    diffent everytime he used them

  2. Dominique says:

    Elle, even though you might have seen right away that this poem was about Jesus, like I did…doesn’t mean those that do not know him will pick that up right away. God Bless : )

  3. Elle says:

    This poem isnt about a cruel king…its Jesus
    ~learn to read between the lines

  4. alli says:

    I like this poem because it reminds me of the summer and of all the fun that I am have win I swim. I like to collect roses and just because this King in this poem sounds cruel, it doesn’t mean that roses can’t be anyones favorite flower.

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