PERFECT ROSE WITH THORNS
Artist friend, the painter of the perfect rose,
I wonder, for one moment, do you suppose
That you could paint a stem with a thorn
As well as a lovely rose the painting to adorn?
For if the world were all roses, we could not grow,
Thorns along life’s way are there, I feel, to show
Us both sides of life so we can find the best way
To be a better person develop character each day
A thorn for humility, one to help us understand
The sorrows of others, another that will expand
Our tender heart, a thorn of sacrifice and pain,
One to help us love the beauty of the rose again.
Please paint a perfect rose with thorns along the stem,
To help all those who see it that we really need them.
Let us appreciate the thorns as well as the sweet flower
And we will have the strength to over come all every hour.
(Millicent) Ann Margetson 8 December 2004