Roses in profusion <br />bloomed along our garden wall. <br />They were both red and yellow- <br />tea hybrids, I recall. <br />There were thorns too, <br />as I well knew, <br />standing guard among the blooms. <br /> <br />A careless creature soon would learn <br />to give the rose wide berth <br />An agony of thorns awaits <br />the careless of the earth. <br />Yet thorns permit the bees to come <br />and pollen to transpose. <br />and, if careful, they'll admit <br />my own scent seeking nose <br /> <br /> <br />I think thorns serve their purpose well <br />else roses would be trampled <br />The thorns are roses' guardians <br />and not inconsequential. <br />Without a thorn, the rose, forlorn, <br />is destined for the ashes.<br /><br />John F. McCullagh<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-rose-amidst-the-thorns/