Roses at Midnight

How precious were those moments

How dear the common hour

Like buds that gently opened

Into petals of a flower

Love’s laughter was like sunshine

It’s suff’ring like the rain

Its seasons like the rose and thorn

Of life’s pleasure and pain

How hardly we had held them

Before they fell away

Rose petals on a garden

In a world of yesterday

And where there had been laughter

Where rafters rang with cheer

It seemed that ever after

Surely love would wear a tear

The bough of bloom was broken

The loom of gladness rent

Where sorrow was love’s token

Of a lifetime fully spent

But God, so rich in mercy

From petals grace bestows

Stirs from love’s tender mem’ry

The beauty of a rose

From folds of sweetest fragrance

When night is dark and still

The power of mere moments

Performs a miracle

What precious, precious comfort

Fond memories can impart

As roses bloom at midnight

In gardens of the heart

 Janet Martin