Twenty roses nestling close
Gleam upon thy breast,
Twenty years of rose-red love
Upon thy fair cheeks rest.
Twenty years would I gladly give
Out of life's brief reign,
Could I but ask a rose of thee
And ask it not in vain.
Twenty roses thou dost not need
--Why, pearls and rubies are thine!--
With nineteen thou'dst be just as fair,
And _one_ would then be _mine_!
And twenty years of rose-wreathed joy
Would spring to life for me--
Yet twenty years could ne'er suffice
To worship it--and thee!
The Princess.