The Rose Tree + 

“O words are lightly spoken,” + 

Said Pearse to Connolly, + 

“Maybe a breath of politic words + 

Has withered our Rose Tree; + 

Or maybe but a wind that blows + 

Across the bitter sea.” + 

“It needs to be but watered,” + 

James Connolly replied, + 

“To make the green come out again + 

And spread on every side, + 

And shake the blossom from the bud + 

To be the garden’s pride.” + 

“But where can we draw water,” + 

Said Pearse to Connolly, + 

“When all the wells are parched away? + 

O plain as plain can be + 

There’s nothing but our own red blood + 

Can make a right Rose Tree.” + 