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The Last Rose of Summer
A song lyric associated with solitude, friendship, fading beauty, and the passing of time.
Full poem text
'Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rose-bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow,
When friendships decay,
And from Love's shining circle
The gems drop away.
When true hearts lie withered,
And fond ones are flown,
O! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
Source and copyright
Source attribution
Text sourced from Wikisource. Please verify suitability before reproducing in printed or public materials.
Text checked against the Wikisource transcription from Poems That Every Child Should Know, edited by Mary E. Burt and published in 1904. Musical arrangements and recordings are not covered by this text verification.
Verification
Verification date: 12 June 2026
Copyright note: This text is presented as public domain based on the cited source. Modern editions, translations, annotations, arrangements, recordings, and performances may have separate rights.