Jean Marsh, who passed away on April 13, 2025, was the creative force behind Upstairs, Downstairs, the groundbreaking series that captivated audiences in the 1970s. As co-creator, writer, and actress, she brought unforgettable characters to life, with her portrayal of Rose, the compassionate maid, at the heart of the series. Inspired by her time staying in France, Marsh explored the int...

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ADVENT

Purification
World of all souls mistletoe rose
Christmas tree healing

Joyful emotions
For giving the heart is key
To the wealth of health

Colds can be deadly
If we lack immunity
We are all fragile

Viruses present
Unwanted gifts at Christmas
To all believers

And of none but we
Shall remember those who died
In hospital wards

Last gasp for the world
Can our patient...

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thorn rose in quicksand

a pale siren lost at sea

gurgling a hymn, that's

what she means to me

 

she's saying little of late

quieter now than of yore

time's calmed her down

once I called her a whore

 

came home at all hours

partied till she dropped

spent money like water

manic how she shopped

 

once a nymphomaniac

in bed she wore me out

I was not t...

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Flo and Rose were lovers

they ran a florists' shop,

buds and lilies binding

a love they'd never lop

 

then Rose met a driver

new emotions but true,

she left Lily cut deeply

and eloped off to Kew

 

sick to death of flowers

Lily pined, got sick, died,

specified in her last will

no wreaths grave-side

 

her plot's tidy but bare

no blooms for her woes,

...

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My Sweet Rose!

Ujjal Mandal, India

O dear, you are my sweet rose
Taking thy kiss I want my lips to close.
You never bloom elsewhere 
Besides my heart's chamber.
O my love, come and take me
On thy rosy petals like a hungry bee.

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Ujjal Mandal, West Bengal, India

Why does the rose BLOOM? 

Rose blooms to show
Her elegance to the soft hearts
Of love like her mild petals.
O, let's bloom like the rose.

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The rose recognizes the beauty of the sunflower, all the while self-assured in her own. She does not envy the golden beauty for her appeal to you

 

She knows better - she has guarded her stem from the likes of your fingers and the fingers of those before you, and the ones that will come after

 

She knows that while you, selfishly and ignorantly, believe the garden to be created for you...

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She drifted in and out of view

passing from gossamer to stone,

floating and then, sinking down low,

singing the words you wrote for her,

the sound now a sick cacophony

mocking your emotions,

stabbing at your heart.

Holding the now faded rose

that you had pinned in her hair,

but truly, a thorn in her side

had been your gift to her,

the beautiful bloom

was invisib...

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My beautiful Spanish Rose, 

  the most fragrant flower

    in a crowded garden,

      withstanding harsh winters

        and choking weeds

          to remain

unplucked.

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https://youtu.be/QVZ7RGypMWI

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I have decided enough is enough

i have seen the glass bottom so many times and the view is so distorted that life means nothing.

Life is what we make it - so the next life will be better

The next life will be worse

The next life is just that the next one.

 

I am so far from home that I do not think I will ever return.  

My light is lost, it is shining on those that need it mor...

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Love once bloomed 
like a fragrant flower
in eternal spring.

Through years of 
torrential summer tears, 
then droughts,

the scent faded.

All that seemingly remains
are scorched petals that drop 
like dead leaves in fall.

But, far beneath 
the frozen surface, 
intertwined roots run deep...

Making our twisted love 
hardy, to weather the 
toughest seasons.
 
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https://...

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A Shattered Rose

The slick cliff'd river smears shiny

blue-green sliding waters

across richly wooded chateau-lands;

 

hurrying through honey-scarred falaises,

cat-mouthed where toffee sandstones

arced onto sleeping innocents beneath.

 

A country blessèd and blighted both,

in equal measure (as aeons bequeath)

full with easy money, and its deadly past.

 

April ...

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I saw a rose 

In a small glass vase 

It looked so fragile and helpless 

But yet beautiful and sublime. 

 

Could I touch its petals 

Without causing the harm 

that would damage 

this wonderful thing? 

 

Could I breathe onto 

its fine leaves 

And leave no sign of human interference? 

Let it live on in its own peace?  

 

My lovely lonesome rose 

Do not ...

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A hundred thoughts in my mind

Yet struggling to pen down some lines.

There is this rainbow, all over me;

But I am all white

Just being black and white.

 

Bullet is cheaper than love;

Tears wiping away smiles.

Death winning over life;

But I am alright, 

Just being black and white.

 

A hundred arrows pierced my heart;

Haven't split a pint of blood, yet

Gazin...

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It is not like a tree
In bulk doth make man better be,
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year
To fall a log at last, dry, bald and sere,
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night—
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see
And in short measures life may perfect be.//

የሰው ትክክለኛ መስፈርት

እንደዛፍ መግዘፍ
ሠውን አያደርገውም...

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Today my heart felt a blow,
By a view so divine.
I let my emotions flow,
Like a 30 year old wine.

There it was in that tiny box,
With pulses of energy shooting through,
That blurry image came across,
Like the inside of a Great Gray Kangaroo.

I felt her hand touching mine,
Held her hand - fingers entwined,
Watching my angel wriggle and shine,
With the life of Us combined.

Seeing y...

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lost spots of sunlight

dreamed into a flower

how a rose is born

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The fierce wind blows, yet the dew won't dry
On the petals of the lone rose blossom.
Sparse thorns stand raw, achy reminders
Of the wondrous lost dream of yesterday,
When the two golden birds sat on this branch
Staring into the infinite mirror of their eyes,
Rejoicing in the warmth of their evening song,
Delighting in each other's pure presence,
Basking in the divine light of Nature,
And ...

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