My Lady's Presence Makes the Roses Red - by Henry Constable (1562 - 1613)

"My Lady's Presence Makes the Roses Red" by Henry Constable (1562 - 1613) is
a sad love poem about a beautiful women who hurt the narrator and made him
cry for her.

The narrator compares the women with many flowers, describes her beauty by
them and tells the listener by this the character of this women. He describes
everything in this poem by comparison, especially the color of the flowers
and their meanings.

He compares her with red roses, a color and a flower of love and passion.
"makes the roses red" tells the listener that whenever she is close to him
she makes him love her. He's a rose which becomes red, falls in love, when
she is close to him or on his mind. Her beauty makes even other beautiful
women "lily's leaves", a beautiful flower, envy her beauty "pale became". She
gives him love and warmth, makes him feel happiness and gives him life like
the sun "the sun's and her power are the same". For this he compares her with
the flower ...