Time & Brevity
'Tis the Last Rose of Summer
From Irish Melodies
'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,
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
Codex Note
Set to a traditional Irish air, this became one of the most set and quoted lyrics of the nineteenth century — Flotow borrowed it whole for the opera Martha.
Cite this poem
MLA
Moore, Thomas. “'Tis the Last Rose of Summer.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/moore/18/.
Chicago
Moore, Thomas. “'Tis the Last Rose of Summer.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/moore/18/.
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