A Lovely Rose Poem by ENOCH JOHN

I walked in a garden of flowers yesterday,
At evening, when the sun's rays were receding behind the hill,
and these beautiful creations of nature I so admired.
There were sprawling chrysanthemums
with their golden flowers that sparkled like jewels in the fading light;
The Bougainvillea with her brightly coloured flowers,
climbing and spreading like the drawing in a kid's scrapbook;
The Crotons and the Chaconia formed almost a circumference
around the garden like a floral arc,
but it was a solitary red rose in the midst of the garden
that held my attention and aroused my emotions.

Hey you beautiful flower of Spring
as Aurora you enchant me as my muse:
Clio, the muse of history shall revisit every papyrus, every hieroglyph.
Philomel spontaneously breaks out in melodious song,
and Calliope inspires the poet to chant an epic song:
Song of Roses, song of roses choreographed
By a thousand nymphs in the harbour.

O Rose of the desert's thin air, last night
I dreamed I touched you and your petals were so soft,
resplendent and lovely,
and simply exhilarating was your perfumed smell!