If I should cease to bring a Rose

If I should cease to bring a Rose Upon a festal day, 'Twill be because beyond the Rose I have been called away --

If I should cease to take the names My buds commemorate -- 'Twill be because Death's finger Claps my murmuring lip!

Emily Dickinson

Mood:: Contemplative
Topics:: transience, death, silence, remembrance, flowers

What is this poem about?

Summary

The speaker quietly imagines a day when she won’t appear with a rose on a festive occasion or speak the names that her flowers honor. The only reason, she says, would be that she’s been called beyond the rose—drawn away by death, its finger gently pressing her murmuring lips shut.

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