Page:The Collected Poems of Dora Sigerson Shorter.djvu/242

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THE HEART OF A MAID

In the heart of a rose
Lies the heart of a maid;
If you be not afraid
You will wear it. Who knows?

In the pink of its bloom,
Lay your lips to her cheek;
Since a rose cannot speak,
And you gain the perfume.

If the dews on the leaf
Are the tears from her eyes;
If she withers and dies,
Why, you have the belief,

That a rose cannot speak.
Though the heart of a maid
In its bosom must fade.
And with fading must break.

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