A Summer Wish by Christina Georgina Rossetti
The speaker urges a dew-covered rose to give delight and a soaring bird to sing whether anyone hears it. They wish to bloom like the rose despite thorns, complete their work with the bird's joy in sunlight, and rest in refreshing dew when their time has run.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Nature Poetry · 216 words
First lines
Live all thy sweet life through / Sweet Rose, dew-sprent, / Drop down thine evening dew / To gather it anew / When day is bright: / I fancy thou wast meant / Chiefly to give delight.
Sing in the silent sky, / Glad soaring bird; / Sing out thy notes on high / To sunbeam straying by / Or passing cloud; / Heedless if thou art heard / Sing thy full song aloud.
O that it were with me / As with the flower; / Blooming on its own tree / For butterfly and bee / Its summer morns: / That I might bloom mine hour / A rose in spite of thorns.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Four rhymed stanzas move from addressing a rose and a bird to the speaker's personal wishes to bloom despite thorns, finish their work, and rest.
- Nature Poetry — A rose, dew, birdsong, sunlight, butterflies, and bees provide concrete models for the speaker's wishes.
Tags
summer · roses · birdsong · dew · work · rest
What this Textopian page supports
A Summer Wish is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Nature Poetry
- Length: 216 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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