The rose and the thorn

[Saturn]

The rose and the thorn

Bounded in seed,
Both promises
Light and shade.
The self-same
Stem occupy;
One defensive,
Primed, sharp,
The other soft,
Budding beauty,
The blushing top
Of prickled and
Guarded stalk.

We exist as a
Necessity, an
Imperative that
Nature's decree
Insists upon: We
Are evolution
Perfected, the
Cynosure of life:
A tale of good
And evil in one.
_________

[Raphael]

You've captured this well Saturn- reminds me of Sleeping Beauty and the themes in that- ever seen the paintings by Edward Burne Jones- the knights in supended animation by the thorny rose bush? It was one of the piantings I used in my tour 2 years ago at an art gallery and what I talked to visitors about echoes the themes in your poem.