Roses for the Flush of Youth

Oh roses for the flush of youth,
And laurel for the perfect prime;
But pluck an ivy branch for me
Grown old before my time.

Oh violets for the grave of youth,
And bay for those dead in their prime;
Give me the withered leaves I chose
Before in the old time

Christina Rossetti (1849)

Mmm - pretty wilted roses (bit like me perhaps) but all that's left in the garden. I don't normally wax poetical but this was inspired by an article by Christopher Howse in today's Daily Telegraph. He was commenting (disapprovingly) on what he thinks is a growing habit of putting sententious quotations on everyday objects. Apparently a carpet in the Oval Office has slogans round the edge including "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice".