| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895. |
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| The Rose Thou Gav’st |
| | | Charles Swain (1803–74) |
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| THE ROSE thou gav’st at parting— | |
| Hast thou forgot the hour? | |
| The moon was on the river, | |
| The dew upon the flower: | |
| Thy voice was full of tenderness, | 5 |
| But, ah! thy voice misleads; | |
| The rose is like thy promises, | |
| Its thorn is like thy deeds. | |
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| The winter cometh bleakly, | |
| And dark the time must be; | 10 |
| But I can deem it summer | |
| To what thou ’st prov’d to me. | |
| The snow that meets the sunlight | |
| Soon hastens from the scene; | |
| But melting snow is lasting, | 15 |
| To what thy faith hath been. | |
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