Read "Thorns" by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
As we pass by the roses, / Into your finger-tip / Bruise you the thorn. / Quick at the prick you start, / Crying, "Alas, the smart! / Farewell, my pleasant friend, / Wisely our way we wend / Out of the reach of roses."
Oh, we pass by the roses! / Where does the red drop drip? / Where is the thorn? / What though 'tis hid and pressed / Piercing into my breast? / Scathless, I stretch my hand; / Strong as their roots I stand, / And dare to trust the roses.