To be fair, Giverny (pictured here) was not the culprit. But the poem came to mind when I saw this picture. I was unable to leave the vase on the windowsill because our Siamese kitten (the rose lover) tipped it over and all the water went down into our toaster. It took me three days before I worked up the nerve to try and use it again. I used to treat myself to grocery store roses once a week; there is something about seeing a fresh flower over dinner that is so lovely. I confess I just bought a realistic set of silk roses because I knew the cats couldn’t destroy them and they would never die. I am using my rose money to save up for something else but there is a sadness in not seeing a living rose in our home. Luckily, the people who owned our house at some point before us planted an old fashioned rose bush with spray roses that actually still have that wonderful rose smell. I do not pick them, I just go out and smell them every morning before work when I am watering. As you might be able to tell from the picture, this rose was already dying. At least my roses outside live a long time and I am able to enjoy them daily without cutting them. The English poet and cleric Robert Herrick famously wrote:
“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.”
When I was younger I found this depressing. Now I view it as a positive. Time is like a precious rose; gather ye rosebuds while ye may.
