# The Tomb and the Rose explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ameen Rihani.

## What happens

A poetic dialogue between the Tomb and the Rose, where the Rose transforms dawn's tears into a perfume for the gods, and the Tomb turns devoured mortals into angels for Paradise.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Loss

The Rose is addressed as 'O Flower of Love,' and its tears evoke the sorrow of love and loss.

### Nature and Mortality

The Rose (nature) and the Tomb (mortality) converse about transformation and the afterlife.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator presents the dialogue between the Tomb and the Rose.

## Key lines

> The Tomb said to the Rose: O Flower of Love, where goes Each tear which Dawn upon thy cheeks doth shed?

The Tomb asks the Rose where the tears of dawn go.

_Opens the dialogue with a question about the fate of morning dew._

> The Rose said to the Tomb: What makest in thy gloom Impenetrable of the countless dead?

The Rose asks the Tomb what it creates from the countless dead in its darkness.

_The Rose reciprocates with a question about the Tomb's purpose._

> Said the Rose: O Tomb, of all these tears, In my recesses ere the sun appears, I make a perfume which the gods will prize.

The Rose explains it turns the tears into a perfume valued by the gods.

_The Rose transforms sorrow into something divine._

> Said the Tomb: O plaintive Flower, Of every mortal I devour An angel do I make for Paradise.

The Tomb says it turns each mortal it consumes into an angel for Paradise.

_The Tomb transforms death into eternal life._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/the-tomb-and-the-rose
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters