The Rose
By Henry W. Nevinson
(A mediaeval citizen speaks)
Stephen, clerk of Oxford town,
Oh, the weary while he lies,
Wrapt in his old college gown,
Burning, burning till he dies !
And ’tis very surely said,
He shall burn when he is dead,
All aflame from foot to head.
Stephen said he knew a rose—
One and two, yea, roses three—
Lovelier far than any those
Which at service-time we see,
Emblems of atonement done,
And of Christ’s beloved One,
And of Mary’s mystic Son.
Stephen
By Henry W. Nevinson
(A mediaeval citizen speaks)
Stephen, clerk of Oxford town,
Oh, the weary while he lies,
Wrapt in his old college gown,
Burning, burning till he dies !
And ’tis very surely said,
He shall burn when he is dead,
All aflame from foot to head.
Stephen said he knew a rose—
One and two, yea, roses three—
Lovelier far than any those
Which at service-time we see,
Emblems of atonement done,
And of Christ’s beloved One,
And of Mary’s mystic Son.
Stephen