Christina G. Rossetti (1830–94) from A Nursery Rhyme Book
John William Waterhouse, The Soul of the Rose or My Sweet Rose, 1908
'There’s sweetness in an apple tree,/And profit in the corn': Ch. Rossetti on the beauty of the rose
The lily has a smooth stalk, Will never hurt your hand; But the rose upon her briar Is lady of the land. There’s sweetness in an apple tree, And profit in the corn; But lady of all beauty Is a rose upon a thorn. When with moss and honey She tips her bending briar, And half unfolds her glowing heart, She sets the world on fire.