within the walls of a hidden garden
untouched nor cropped by any hand
there is a black rose
death its soil
beneath a gathering rain
silent in shadow
kissed not by any sun
a cursed black rose
black-blooded
beyond the rotting door
where no season reaches
a black rose
unseen by any eye
now is its last
here it fades
not poison kills it
only cruel time
the bitterest harvest
that from which no life escapes
the bell tolls
for the black rose