Tender only to one

R. Holloway

Tender only to one

Tender and true

The petals swing

To my fingering

Is it you, or you, or you?

Tender only to one

I do not know his name

And the friends who fall

To the petals' call

May think my love to blame.

Tender only to one

This petal holds a clue

The face it shows

But too well knows

Who I am tender to.

Tender only to one,

Last petal's latest breath

Cries out aloud

From the icy shroud

His name, his name is Death.