|The Last Rose of Summer

This last rose of summer

Left blooming alone;

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone;

No flower of her kindred,

No rose-bud is nigh,

to reflect back her blushes,

Or give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone^{1 one!}

To pine on the stem;

Since the lovely are sleeping,

Go, sleep thou with them.

thus kindly^{2 I scatter3}

Thy leaves o'er the bed

Where thy mates of the garden

Lie scentless^{4 and dead.}

Soon may I follow,

When friendships decay,

And from Love's shining circle

The gems^{5 drop away.}

When true hearts lie withered^6,

And fond ones are flown,

O! who would inhabit

This bleak^{7 world alone?}