The Rose Family

By Robert Frost (1874 - 1963)

Robert Frost was the preeminent American poet of his generation. His poetry used the imagery of New England to explore the nature of the human soul. Gentle reader, please forgive me if that last line sounds familiar, but I keep finding new Frost poems that leave me thinking. Today’s entry is a response to the often quoted line from Gertrude Stein “A rose is a rose is a rose.”

"The Rose Family"

The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose - 
But were always a rose. 

Close up of a pink rose, I suppose