To
   wither, vanish, fade, and
diminish,
           dissolving in a glass
half
                     empty that forgets,
whilst
                   growing in Time's passage
and
                   e'er shrinking with age
-is to
                    wither, vanish, fade, and diminish.

Darling,
                    I heed thy cries as you feel blemished,
and
                       are becoming nearer to Death than to me,
because
                     I cannot see the petals for the rose ye be,
or
                at times sense what scents linger in your train
-as
                      you wither, vanish, fade, and diminish.

However,
                    in perfumed decay,
                               I watched you sustain your image,
and
                  persevere in a glass that I changed
out
                            and made half full, being so careful
when
                             putting you back in it:
but still
                             you wither, vanish, fade, and diminish.

The
                          day has come and you have gone away;
and
                          those familiar feel an agony
as
                           we display you finally
in
                           a heavenly vase, for
our
                     good intentioned and religious ceremony:
but
                      now I will now longer see you
-to
                       wither, vanish, fade, and diminish.