Poem: I See His Blood Upon the Rose

I See His Face In Every Flower

I See His Blood Upon the Rose is a poem by the Irish nationalist, poet and journalist, Joseph M. Plunkett (1887-1916). He was executed for his involvement in the Easter Rising of 1916. I See His Blood Upon the Rose was published posthumously in The Poems of Joseph Mary Plunkett (1916). It is included in the Poetry Appendix of the Liturgy of the Hours (1975).


Choral setting by Michael Bedford

I SEE HIS BLOOD UPON THE ROSE by Joseph M. Plunkett (Public Domain)

I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of His eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but His voice -- and carven by His power
Rocks are His written words.

All pathways by His feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.


Meditation