Afternoon

<SPAN name="II"></SPAN>II<br/> <br/> <br/> Roses of June, you the most fair,<br/> You with your hearts transpierced by sun;<br/> Violent, tranquil roses, with the air<br/> Of halted flights of birds upon a bough;<br/> Roses of June and July, straight and new-begun,<br/> Mouths whose kisses all at once are thrilled<br/> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">With the wind or with it stilled,</span><br/> Caressing with shade and gold the moving green;<br/> Roses mutely ardent and sweet willed,<br/> Voluptuous roses in your sheaths of moss,<br/> You who pass the long summer time<br/> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">Loving each other</span><br/> <span style="margin-left: 2em;">In this clarity sublime;</span><br/> Fresh, magnificent, vivid&mdash;like you, oh roses,<br/> Is our multitudinous desire<br/> That in lassitude or leaping fire<br/> Loves, exalts, and then reposes!<br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />