GO, LOVELY ROSE(2018)

Edmund Waller’s classic poem Go, Lovely Rose conjures a simple and affecting scene with a great depth of feeling. In it, a smitten lover fervently compares the object of their affection to a rose, entreating them to recognize their own beauty while they’re still youthful and their pedals are in full bloom (so to speak).   The narrator mourns their crush’s bashfulness and ponders how one could live a life confined in shadows during their short time here on Earth.  They envision what a radiant day it will be once their beloved embraces their unique loveliness and the idea that they are deserving of love just as they are.

While I have lived a life of relative comfort and privilege and have always been surrounded by a supportive community, growing up I struggled greatly coming to terms with my homosexuality.  For years I battled with my anxiety of not wanting to be defined by my “otherness,” of being seen as something undesirable by society, something abnormal.  Thankfully, public acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community has grown at a rapid pace over the past decade and I am now proudly and safely living as a gay man.  LBTQ+ is still largely stigmatized/mischaracterized in our culture however, and I am sure there are many young people who struggle in similar ways to my own.  I interpreted Waller’s poem with these struggles in mind.   How sad it is that so many through the years have felt compelled to hide themselves away, and how wonderful it will be when they are able to embrace their true, authentic selves and society - without flinching - embraces them too.

Performance History

• Workshop performance / Saturday, March 4th 2017 - Wanda L. Bass School of Music, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• World premiere performance by the John Burroughs High School “Powerhouse” choir, Brendan Jennings, artistic director / Sunday, November 15th, 2018 - Saint Finbar Church, Burbank, CA

Workshop performance at the Wanda L. Bass School Of Music, Oklahoma City University. Time stamp: 44:03 - 50:00

Go, Lovely Rose

Edmund Waller (1606-1687)

Go, lovely Rose—

Tell her that wastes her time and me,

That now she knows,

When I resemble her to thee,

How sweet and fair she seems to be.

Tell her that’s young,

And shuns to have her graces spied,

That hadst thou sprung

In deserts where no men abide,

Thou must have uncommended died.

Small is the worth

Of beauty from the light retired:

Bid her come forth,

Suffer herself to be desired,

And not blush so to be admired.

Then die—that she

The common fate of all things rare

May read in thee;

How small a part of time they share

That are so wondrous sweet and fair!