Roses are red, white and sometimes pink
While lilies come but in colour white,
And these two with pure love have a link
As well as show the Will of the Light.
As in more than a shade roses come
So are we not to restrict our love
Nor let it bound to a group become
While we meet other men with rebuff.
The white of the lilies signifies
Purity of both body and soul,
For this alone is what testifies
That the love we give is indeed whole.
Thus must we in love not selfish be
By thinking of how to gain or cheat,
But always give with full heart and glee,
Knowing all men do our love befit.
We ought not give out love at a price
Nor let lust be in our heart concealed.
And let us not anyone despise –
Then in us love would have been fulfilled.
– Victor Emmanuel Uwah, Poems From Without, 1997
