The Lily and the Red Red Rose

My thorns prick the flesh of men
My blood red beauty oft wounds them
My petals feel like softest silk
With fragrance of the sweetest ilk
Symbol of the greatest thing 
Love's energy and quickening
The pollen paints my lily white 
& stops the singing bees in flight 
Valley winds carry my scent 
I'm there at marriage sacrament
In times of death and sad regret 
My open face men can't  forget
Poets  write of how rose wove
A bower for lovers in the grove 
Passion that so many drove 
To depths of pain and heights of love 
And in life's hilly altitudes 
My rosy scent for aye exudes.
A bouquet of my starry white 
Is like the galaxy of light
In lover's hands on wedding night:
And As the hands of time do move
They symbolise e'er lasting love.
When rose and lily are together
They symbolise both pain and pleasure 
Earth's garden is a lasting treasure 
For loving minds beyond all measure 
When glad hearts pluck flowers like these
They breathe in love's eternities

This poem is inspired by my gratitude for my confirmation by Bishop  Ruth Bushyager. This was apt as this is the era of women priesthood : and it reminded me afresh me that the church is called "The bride of Christ". I now feel fully part of that marriage feast and the celebration of the sacrament of love in all its fulness that it represents .