Elmhurst College - Elms Yearbook (Elmhurst, IL)

Page 14 text:

ROSES When Leander swam the Hellespont, His teeth held fast a rose. A mighty war the English fought O ' er the brightest flower that blows. Romeo ' s hands were scratched by thorns As he climbed the rose-covered wall; The Borgia ' s victims sniffed a rose, And straightway dead did fall. I leafed through a book the other day, A word book we all do know; Between two sheets a rose was pressed, A red rose of the long ago. It trembled and rested upon a word, I saw Kiss through a mist of tears. My mind slipped back to a summer day To a place of the early years. She pinned that rose upon my coat; I kissed the tips of her fingers. She offered her lips to take their place — Why is it that her kiss still lingers? The rose has become a symbol to me No matter wherever I roam. A rose and a kiss are waiting for me When I turn my steps toward home. — R. M. Hale.