Classic Poem

Tormented by my labors, I approached
So near the rose tree that I could at will
Lay hands upon her limbs to pluck the bud.
Fair Welcome begged me, for the love of God,
That no outrageous act I should perform,
And to his frequent prayers I gave assent
And made a covenant with him that I
Would nothing do beyond what he might wish
I seized the rose tree by her tender limbs
That are more lithe than any willow bough,
And pulled her close to me with my two hands.
Most gently, that I might avoid the thorns,
I set myself to loosen that sweet bud
That scarcely without shaking could be plucked.
I did this all by sheer necessity.
Trembling and soft vibration shook her limbs;
But they were quite uninjured, for I strove
To make no wound, though I could not avoid
Breaking a trifling fissure in the skin,
Since otherwise I could have found no way
To gain the favor I so much desired.
This much more I'll tell you: at the end,
When I dislodged the bud, a little seed
I spilled just in the center, as I spread
The petals to admire their loveliness,
Searching the calyx to its inmost depths,
As it seemed good to me. It there remained
And scarcely could unmingle from the bud.
The consequence of all this play of mine
Was that the bud expanded and enlarged.
But I'd not misbehaved more than I've told;
Rather, I'd done so well in my attempt
That never did the sweet bud turn from me
Or think it any harm, but e'er complied
And let me do whatever she supposed
I ought to do most to delight myself.
Of course she did remind me of my pledge
And say I was outrageous in demands,
And that I'd done what I should not have done;
But ne'ertheless she never did forbid
That I should seize and strip and quite deflower
Both trunk and limbs of every leaf and bloom.
When I perceived that I had such success
That my affair no longer was in doubt
And that I nobly had achieved my end,
I felt most thankful and recognizant,
As any honest debtor ought to feel,
Toward all the friends who had so aided me.
I felt myself beholden much to them,
Since by their aid I had become so rich
That, to affirm the truth, not Wealth herself
Was half so wealthy. First unto the God
Of Love and Venus, who had helped me most,
And then to all the barons in his train,
Then to Fair Welcome and that other Friend
Who proved himself to be a friend indeed,
Whom I pray God that He will ne'er restrain
From aiding loyal lovers, I gave thanks
With savory kisses, ten or twenty times.
But Reason I forgot, whose hortatives
Had made me waste so many pangs in vain,
As well as Wealth, that ancient villainess
Who had no thought of pity when she warned
Me from the footpath where she kept her ward.
Thank God she did not guard that passageway
By which I made my entrance secretly,
Little by little, notwithstanding all
The efforts of my mortal enemies
Who held me back so much, especially
The guardian Jealousy, with her sad wreath
Of care, who keeps true lovers from the Rose.
Much good their guardianship is doing now!
Ere I remove from that delightful place
Where 'tis my hope I ever can remain,
With greatest happiness I'll pluck the blooms
From off the rosebush, fair in flower and leaf
This, then, is how I won my vermeil Rose.
Then morning came, and from my dream at last I woke.