“The Rose”

Thought for the day – Thursday 18th June 2020

A Poem

Ann Bird who used to be the Methodist Church Pastoral Secretary used the following poem in a workshop I attended.  It really spoke to me and I thought it would be good to share it with all of you.  You may need to read it more than once to really enjoy it.

The Rose

There is a world of wonder in this rose;
God made it, and his whole creation grows
To a point of perfect beauty
In this garden plot.  He knows
The poet’s thrill on this June morning,
As he sees His will

To beauty taking form,
His word made flesh, and dwelling among men.
All mysteries
In this one flower meet
And intertwine,
The universe is concrete.

The human and divine,
In one unique and perfect thing, are fused
Into a unity of Love,
This rose as I behold it;

For all things gave it me,
The stars have helped to mould it,
The air, soft moonshine, and the rain,
The meekness of old mother earth,
The many billowed sea.

The evolution of ten million years,
And all the pain of ages,
brought it to its birth
And gave it me.

The tears of Christ are in it
And his blood has dyed it red,
I could not see it but for him
Because he led
Me to the love of God,
From which all beauty springs.
I and my rose
Are one.