The White Rose by John Boyle O’Reilly

The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
Oh, the red rose is a falcon.
And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud
With a flush on its petal tips;
For the love that is purest and sweetest
Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

From: O’Reilly, John Boyle, In Bohemia, 1890, The Pilot Publishing Co: Boston, p. 24.
(http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/In_Bohemia/A_White_Rose)

Date: 1886

By: John Boyle O’Reilly (1844-1890)