Roses in Springtime - Publius Annius Florus

Roses are here at last: thanks to the mood
Of lovely Spring, one day shows barbs of bloom;
A second, pyramids more largely swoln;
A third reveals the cup: four days fulfil
Their task of flowering. This day seals their doom
Unless the morning brings a gatherer.

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Publius Annius Florus (c.74 - ?) Egypt
Translated by J. Wight Duff and Arnold M. Duff
Source: Florus, Loeb Classical Library, 1934 (revised 1935)