[Editor: This poem by E. J. Brady was published in The Earthen Floor (1902).]
IX.
The Lily and the Rose.
Lo! a proud, white, languid Lily
In a city garden grows;
And, like mail-clad knight, beside her
Stand a tall, red-hearted Rose.
On her bosom cold the crimson
Of his burning heart is thrown;
On her bosom cold that knoweth
No red passion of its own.
In the green, sun-dowered Southland,
Where the painted fire-tree gleams,
Sleeps a shy, sweet, scented Lily.
Hid beside the singing streams.
Sleep and dreams she so; but ever,
Through her vision calleth clear
Some unknown, red-hearted lover,
Some impassioned Cavalier.
If the Rose but loved the Lily
That beside the river grows?
If the Lily of the garden
Did but love the crimson Rose?
Source:
E. J. Brady, The Earthen Floor, Grafton (N.S.W.): Grip Newspaper Co., 1902
Editor’s notes:
Cavalier = an attentive, gallant, or chivalrous man, especially one acting as an escort to a lady of high social standing (may also refer to: a supporter of King Charles I in the era of the English Civil War, a royalist; a horseman, especially a mounted soldier or cavalryman; someone who disregards, is dismissive of, or is inconsiderate of, the feelings or well-being of others)
Old spelling in the original text:
calleth (calls)
knoweth (knows)
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