A rose is lying in the summer mud—
The dew still fresh from when it fell last night.

A phoenix sinks into a sea of sands—
See how the midnight’s sky outshines the day?

It’s true—a comet burns one moment then
It fades and scatters on the cosmic surf.

But Hector too had breathed his final breath,
Then like a comet vanished in the depths.

A boy is dreaming on a backyard swing;
He smells the lilacs, but he picks a rose.

He has his dreams, some dark, some bright, some light
And pure like laurel sprigs or mountain streams.

He picked the rose—its beauty unsurpassed;
He picked her though he feared her thorns—he had

A fear of fear itself and love of love—
The love of “other” and the love of self.

The rose we place inside our lover’s hands
Is like the dreams we place in our own hands.

When fresh-picked roses are placed in their hands,
Our dearest hopes and dreams are placed there too.

Dreams too—like roses and like love have thorns,
But oh the joy of picking our own rose.

The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now.

We hope you will join us in The Imaginative Conservative community. The Imaginative Conservative is an online journal for those who seek the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. We address culture, liberal learning, politics, political economy, literature, the arts and the American Republic in the tradition of Russell Kirk, T.S. Eliot, Edmund Burke, Irving Babbitt, Wilhelm Roepke, Robert Nisbet, Richard Weaver, M.E. Bradford, Eric Voegelin, Christopher Dawson, Paul Elmer More, and other leaders of Imaginative Conservatism. Some conservatives may look at the state of Western culture and the American Republic and see a huge dark cloud which seems ready to unleash a storm that may well wash away what we most treasure of our inherited ways. Others focus on the silver lining which may be found in the next generation of traditional conservatives who have been inspired by Dr. Kirk and his like. We hope that The Imaginative Conservative answers T.S. Eliot’s call to “redeem the time, redeem the dream.” The Imaginative Conservative offers to our families, our communities, and the Republic, a conservatism of hope, grace, charity, gratitude, and prayer.

The featured image is courtesy of Pixabay.

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