by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933)
The rose and the bee
Language: English
If I were a bee and you were a rose,
Would you let me in when the gray wind blows?
Would you hold your petals wide apart,
Would you let me in to find your heart,
If you were a rose?
"If I were a rose and you were a bee,
You should never go when you came to me,
I should hold my love on my heart at last,
I should close my leaves and keep you fast,
If you were a bee."
Text Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "The rose and the bee", appears in Helen of Troy and Other Poems, first published 1911 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Harold Vincent Milligan (1888 - 1951), "The rose and the bee", published 1914 [ voice and piano ], from 3 Songs [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-04
Line count: 10
Word count: 84