Since roses mean remembrance
Then a rose is just the way
To show that you’re remembered
Very specially today.

One brilliant sun in a sky of blue,
One perfect rose sparkling with dew,
One golden friendship - tried and true
Reminds me that there’s just one YOU!

- Jean Kyler McManus

A PERFECT ROSE

A rose bears God’s own signature
His own precise design -
Who else could put perfection
In each pure and lovely line ...
And when I touch a fragrant rose
This thought comes to my mind -
These roses, like true friendships
Are God’s gift to all mankind.

- Doris Faulhaber

WHAT IS A ROSE?

To some it is a symbol
Of a love so deep and true
It will last throughout a lifetime -
Ever tender, ever new.

To others it’s a sign of joy -
An inner happiness
More perfect and more beautiful
Than any words express.

It’s a sign of sweet remembrance
When it’s given to a friend -
A warm, unspoken message
Any heart can comprehend.

But to all those who receive it
It’s a precious gift indeed
And its special kind of magic
Somehow answers every need.

- Carolyn A. Herrmann

Loveliest of lovely things are they
On earth that soonest pass away.
The rose that lives its little hour
Is prized beyond the sculptured flower.

- Bryant

Friendship’s like a flower
For, just as that flower grows
From a seed into a tiny bud
And then a lovely rose,
So friendship’s seed is planted
With a pleasant word or smile
And it grows with every thoughtful deed
Till, in a little while,
It blossoms in the hearts of friends
With all its joys unfurled -
The sweetest, fairest flower
That ever graced this world!

- Elizabeth M. Gerus

This day is a rose ... In the morning
light ... its dewy petals ... are folded
tight ... As the hours go by ... the
petals unfold ... so they shine in the
mid-day ... like purest gold ... Its
fragrance grows sweeter ... each passing
hour ... when evening falls ... it’s a
full-blown flower ... May each day of
your life ... bring gladness that grows ...
and blooms in your heart ... like a
beautiful rose.

- Jean Kyler McManus

We claim God’s roses as our own,
Each one we tend with pride.
We give them care and nourish them
And then we step aside
To watch them grow in beauty,
Then guard them day by day
Just like the special friendships
that God has sent our way.
For, like the precious roses,
Each one needs tender care
So they will grow in beauty
Each day and everywhere.

- Jo-Ann M. Daugherty

Beauty smiles in the confinement of the
bud in the heart of a sweet incompleteness.

- Tagore

... friendship is the breathing rose,
With sweets in every fold.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Friendship is the breathing rose
With sweets in every fold.
Its beauty is a constant joy
That’s something to behold ...
It brightens many lonely hours
And blesses human hearts
And there’s a kind of magic
In the pleasure it imparts ...
It lives - not for itself alone
But surely - for these things -
The faith and hope that it inspires -
The happiness it brings.
Your thoughtfulness has given it
A garden where it grows
And I’m so glad our friendship
Is indeed the breathing rose.

- Ray Mathews

TODAY I THOUGHT OF YOU

Today I thought of rosy petals
Gleaming in the sun
And I thought about the happiness
You bring to everyone.

Today I thought of fragrant roses
Sparkling, fresh with dew
Gathered in the early dawn
And then I thought of you.

For the longer you’re a friend of mine
The oftener I find
That all the lovely things I see
Bring thoughts of you to mind!

- Jean Kyler McManus

Roses to brighten your hours ...
Laughter to lighten your heart
Faith in the things you are planning
Zest for the projects you start
The blessings of love and true friendship ...
These are the wishes I send
To someone who’s given me so many joys
By being a wonderful friend!

- Unknown