The Last Rose of Summer (continued)

'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming all alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flower of her kindred,
No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.


I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them;
'Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.


"The Last Rose of Summer" is the name of a piece of music that really touched me. I closed my eyes while listening to it and found images of a beautiful scene streaming into my heart. The scene of a beautiful valley with a waterfall, with a cukoo floating around looking for one last rose left from the summer as described in my previous post, then it stopped. It didn't go any further in my imagination. That was when I started searching google for pieces of art with that name. I found a nice poem written by Henry Moore and sung by Sarah Brightman (above are the first two stanzas). I was struck by the poet's solution for the problem; his decision to scatter the rose's petals to save her from loneliness. Merciful killing it was, or cruel mercy as I feel like calling it. I really didn't like it at all. No matter what the reason could be, he had no right to take a life away. It might be sad and lonely indeed, but why take away from it the opportunity to draw one more smile on somebody's face? Why rid it of the chance of bringing innocent joy to a saddened heart, to add warm color to an otherwise cold scene?!

What I'd rather use as a continuation to the story would be to give that one last rose all the care and nurture possible, to keep her healthy and happy for as long as it is alive. Then when it is its natural time to go, I guess it would go down with a smile.