It was not in the Winter

It was not in the Winter
Our loving lot was cast;
It was the Time of Roses,--
We plucked them as we passed!

That churlish season never frown'd
On early lovers yet:--
Oh, no--the world was newly crown'd
With flowers when first we met!

'Twas twilight, and I bade you go,
But still you held me fast;
It was the Time of Roses,--
We pluck'd them as we pass'd.--

What else could peer thy glowing cheek,
That tears began to stud?
And when I ask'd the like of Love,
You snatched a damask bud;

And oped it to the dainty core,
Still glowing to the last.--
It was the Time of Roses,--
We plucked them as we pass'd!