• Dearest, let these roses
    In their purity,
    Be a present symbol
    Of my love for thee.
    Underneath the blossom
    Thorns are sure to grow;
    Take heed lest you touch them,
    They would pain you so!
    Ah! my faults like thorns are,
    But cannot they be
    Hidden 'neath the flower
    Of my love for thee?

  • Accept, dear girl, this little token,
       And if between the lines you seek,
    You'll find the love I've often spoken-
       The love my dying lips shall speak.

    Our little ones are making merry
       O'er am'rous ditties rhymed in jest,
    But in these words (though awkward-very)
       The genuine article's expressed.

    You are as fair and sweet and tender,
      ...