“The Rose” by John Cournos

The Rose

I remember a day when I stood on the sea shore at

Nice, holding a scarlet rose in my hands.

The calm sea, caressed by the sun, was brightly

garmented in blue, veiled in gold, and violet, verging

on silver.

 

Gently the waves lapped the shore, and scatter-

ing into pearls, emeralds and opals, hastened towards

my feet with a monotonous, rhythmical sound, like the

prolonged note of a single harp-string.

 

[ . . . ]

 

John Cournos' poem "The Rose," which was inspired by K. Tetmaier was published in the 1914 imagist anthology, Des Imagistes. To read this poem in full in a digitized version of this publication, follow the links below:

Archive.org

The Blue Mountain Project (The Glebe)

The Modernist Journals Project (Charles and Albert Boni edition)