The Rose of Peace
If Michael, leader of God's host When Heaven and Hell are met, Looked down on you from Heaven's door-post He would his deeds forget. Brooding no more upon God's wars In his divine homestead, He would go weave out of the stars A chaplet for your head. And all folk seeing him bow down, And white stars tell your praise, Would come at last to God's great town, Led on by gentle ways; And God would bid His warfare cease, Saying all things were well; And softly make a rosy peace, A peace of Heaven with Hell.
The Rose of Peace - meaning Summary
Peace Reconciles Heaven and Hell
The poem imagines the archangel Michael abandoning his role as heavenly warrior to honor a beloved figure, symbolized as a rose. His gesture—placing a star-woven chaplet on her—causes celestial beings to praise her and leads God to call off the cosmic conflict. The closing image is a gentle reconciliation between Heaven and Hell, suggesting love or beauty can end hostility and bring universal peace.
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