{"id":188913,"url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/188913-a-rose-has-thorns-as-well-as-honey-poem-by-christina-rossetti-1872","short_url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/188913","headline":"A rose has thorns as well as honey || Poem by Christina Rossetti (1872)","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA rose has thorns as well as honey, \u003cbr\u003eI’ll not have her for love or money; \u003cbr\u003eAn iris grows so straight and fine, \u003cbr\u003eThat she shall be no friend of mine; \u003cbr\u003eSnowdrops like the snow would chill me; \u003cbr\u003eNightshade would caress and kill me; \u003cbr\u003eCrocus like a spear would fright me; \u003cbr\u003eDragon’s-mouth might bark or bite me; \u003cbr\u003eConvolvulus but blooms to die; \u003cbr\u003eA wind-flower suggests a sigh; \u003cbr\u003eLove-lies-bleeding makes me sad; \u003cbr\u003eAnd poppy-juice would drive me mad:— \u003cbr\u003eBut give me holly, bold and jolly, \u003cbr\u003eHonest, prickly, shining holly; \u003cbr\u003ePluck me holly leaf and berry \u003cbr\u003eFor the day when I make merry. \u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChristina Georgina Rossetti\u0026nbsp;(1830 –1894)\u003c/strong\u003e, was an English writer born in London. She authored many romantic, devotional and children's poems, including \"Goblin Market\" and \"Remember\". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Britain: \"In the Bleak Midwinter\" and \"Love Came Down at Christmas\",\u0026nbsp; She was a sister of the artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti II and features in several of his paintings.\u003cbr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis poem is in the public domain.\u003c/p\u003e","content_plain":"A rose has thorns as well as honey, I’ll not have her for love or money; An iris grows so straight and fine, That she shall be no friend of mine; Snowdrops like the snow would chill me; Nightshade would caress and kill me; Crocus like a spear would fright me; Dragon’s-mouth might bark or bite me; Convolvulus but blooms to die; A wind-flower suggests a sigh; Love-lies-bleeding makes me sad; And poppy-juice would drive me mad:— But give me holly, bold and jolly, Honest, prickly, shining holly; Pluck me holly leaf and berry For the day when I make merry. Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 –1894), was an English writer born in London. She authored many romantic, devotional and children's poems, including \"Goblin Market\" and \"Remember\". She also wrote the words of two Christmas carols well known in Britain: \"In the Bleak Midwinter\" and \"Love Came Down at Christmas\",  She was a sister of the artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti II and features in several of his paintings. This poem is in the public domain.","published_at":"2026-07-30T03:44:00-07:00","updated_at":"2026-07-30T03:45:01-07:00","author":{"type":"Person","name":"Poetry Alley","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/profiles/100043-poetry-alley"},"description":"Stay up-to-date with Poetry Alley on Kudos365. View their photo published Jul/30/2026 on Poetry. Browse your favorite topics and share your expertise, too.","type":"photo","image":"https://k365fs.imgix.net/media/X7kxAvq5Sk2dDK5AhTnj_Christina_Rossetti%20R.jpg?auto=compress,format\u0026fit=max\u0026w=1200\u0026h=1200\u0026q=48","likes_count":1,"comments_count":1,"categories":[{"name":"Poetry","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/categories/942-poetry"}],"schema":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"CreativeWork","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/188913-a-rose-has-thorns-as-well-as-honey-poem-by-christina-rossetti-1872","headline":"A rose has thorns as well as honey || Poem by Christina Rossetti (1872)","image":"https://k365fs.imgix.net/media/X7kxAvq5Sk2dDK5AhTnj_Christina_Rossetti%20R.jpg?auto=compress,format\u0026fit=max\u0026w=1200\u0026h=1200\u0026q=48","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Poetry Alley","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/profiles/100043-poetry-alley"},"datePublished":"2026-07-30T03:44:00-07:00","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/LikeAction","userInteractionCount":1}],"subjectOf":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Poetry","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/categories/942-poetry"}]}}