Who am I trying to kid here? In our climate we may have a few roses for months yet but the exuberant and abundant blooms of summer will very soon live only in memory. Since it is now officially fall, a time of ingathering and introspection, I decided to post a couple of pictures taken on the last day of summer.
'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
Thomas Moore
There are many wonderful recordings of the beautiful song using these lyrics! Deanna Durbin, Kiri Te Kanawa, Joan Sutherland, Luisa Tetrazzini, and Rita Streich are but a few of the divas to record this favorite Irish song also used in the opera "Martha." Here's a link to Dame Te Kanawa's performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbfpDDf3ZPw
Hard as it is to say farewell to the green bacchanalia of summer, I look forward to autumn and wish you all a very happy one!
beautiful blossoms and song. It makes me sad... the end of calendar summer is actually felt physically on my person. But I do love that you refer to the autumn. I was saying to danger that is makes me think more of harvest and therefore is a celebration of summer. It's like the culmination of the fulness and bounty of summer celebrated.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful time of year! If we could just skip January - March, all would be perfect!
DeleteIf the fragrance is anything like the blooms, my oh my!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty roses! I love looking at them, but growing them, not so much. Too much work. I'm looking forward to autumn too. I have sooooo much planting to do. I'm going to be at it till Spring.
ReplyDeleteI don't much care for the growing part either & the roses I have know not to expect anything from me but a little manure in the spring and some fish fertilizer later on if I remember. If they look really horrible, they might get trimmed every few years.
DeleteDon't fret...we've got at least another month before it really cools down...and even longer until a real frost :-)
ReplyDeleteRight you are Scott. We're very lucky to live in the PNW! I love our mellow autumns.
DeleteLovely
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteEven here the roses still bloom sporadically. But in 2 weeks or so that will be over for good. Then it's time to start planting bulbs and planning for spring.
ReplyDeleteThe perpetual cycle...
DeleteLovely roses, i love that poem by Thomas Moore. It's strange i was only thinking of it just before i read your post. Happy Autumn to you Outlaw.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that you were thinking of this poem especially because it's spring where you are! Happy spring to you, Karen!
DeleteOh i am sorry it is a song, not a poem, beautiful anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt's both. Poem first then set to music.
DeleteI'm going straight to my Renee Fleming CD. She does the song proud.
ReplyDelete