O roses for the flush of youth, 
  And laurel for the perfect prime; 
But pluck an ivy branch for me 
  Grown old before my time. 

O violets for the grave of youth, 
  And bay for those dead in their prime; 
Give me the withered leaves I chose 
  Before in the old time.

Note: first published under the pseudonym of Ellen Alleyn.

Composition:

Set to music by David Arditti (b. 1964), "O roses for the flush of youth", op. 10 no. 2, from Three Songs of Christina Rossetti, no. 2

Text Authorship:

• by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "Song", from Germ (Feb. 1850)

See other settings of this text.

Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 53