The Rosary

THE hours I spent with thee, dear heart,

   Are as a string of pearls to me;

I count them over, every one apart,

      My Rosary

Each hour a pearl, each hour a prayer,

   To still a heart in absence wrung;

I tell each bead until the end and there

      A cross is hung.

Oh memories that bless--and burn!

   Oh barren gain--and bitter loss!

I kiss each bead, and strive at last to learn

      To kiss the cross,

         Sweetheart,

            To kiss the cross.

Robert Cameron Rogers

Index to poems in the collection by Robert Cameron Rogers