WHEN I SAW YOU LAST, ROSE

WHEN I saw you last, Rose,

You were only so high;—

How fast the time goes!

Like a bud ere it blows,

You just peeped at the sky,

When I saw you last, Rose!

Now your petals unclose,

Now your May-time is nigh;—

How fast the time goes!

And a life—how it grows!

You were scarcely so shy,

When I saw you last, Rose!

In your bosom it shows

There’s a guest on the sly;

How fast the time goes!

Is it Cupid? Who knows!

Yet you used not to sigh,

When I saw you last, Rose;—

How fast the time goes!

Austin Dobson.