The Roses of Saadi (Madame M. Desbordes-Valmore)

I went early this morning to bring thee fresh roses,

But they were so many—burst the band that encloses

The flowers I pick daily, and they all flew away.

Some were whirled by the wind, and some fell in the river,

They seemed for one moment in its ripples to shiver,

Then they followed the stream, winding on in its play;

On the waters they gleamed as in ashes gleam embers,

Their sweet fragrance my robe—ah, my robe still remembers,

Respire the remembrance as it rustles, I pray.