The Winter Rose Poem by DonnaDeLong Matthews

Forty plus years
this rose began its start
with a love so pure
from two connected hearts

Why it did not bloom
in the many Spring's past
is only known to Him
whose hand this mold did cast

But it is in the winter
of these two lives
When the roots regain
and grow and thrive

A love lay dormant
for years and years
Now burst to life
with joyful tears

Their love over the years
silently survives and grows
as does the petals
of the Winter Rose

Donna DeLong Matthews
August 2005
Rewrite May 2006