A Rose from Homer’s Grave

In the silence of the starlit night, every song from the eastern region expresses the affection of the nightingale towards the rose.The bird with wings sings a melodious tune to the sweet-scented flowers.

I spotted a hedge of roses on sacred land near Smyrna, where traders guide their heavily burdened camels, who carry their goods with pride while passing under tall pine trees. As the rays of the sun touched her wings, a turtle-dove soared amid the branches of the towering trees, and her wings shone like mother-of-pearl.A stunning blossom bloomed on the rosebush, surpassing all others, and the nightingale sang of his sufferings to her. However, the rose did not respond and not even a dewdrop trickled down as a sign of compassion on her leaves. She lowered her head towards a pile of stones and declared, “This is where the most exceptional singer in the world lies. I will diffuse my aroma over his grave and allow my leaves to fall upon it when they are blown away by the storm.He who sang about Troy turned into the earth, and I was born from that earth.I am a rose that grew from the place where Homer was buried. I am too special to bloom just for a small bird called a nightingale.” After that, the nightingale sang so much that he died.A camel-driver passed by along with his black slaves and burdened camels. His small son discovered the dead bird and buried it in the same place where the famous writer Homer was buried. Meanwhile, the rose quivered because of the wind.

As the night arrived, the rose hugged her leaves tightly and went to sleep. And while she was sleeping, she had a dream.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and a group of strangers who were on a pilgrimage to Homer’s grave came closer.One of the people visiting was a musician from the north, where there are lots of clouds and luminous lights called the aurora borealis.He picked the rose and put it inside a book. Then, he took it with him to a faraway place in the world that was his home country.The rose became sad and lost its color. It stayed inside the book’s pages while the person who picked it up went back to his home. He opened the book and said: “A rose from Homer’s grave”.

Then the flower woke up from her dream and quivered because of the wind.A tiny bit of dew fell from the leaves and landed on the grave of the singer.When the sun came up, the flower opened up and became prettier than it was before.It was a very hot day, and the flower was still in her warm home, in Asia. Then, the footsteps of people walking came closer. They were strangers, just like the ones the flower had seen in her dream. One of the people was a poet from the north, who picked the flower, gave it a kiss on its fresh petals, and took it with him to his home where there are lots of clouds and northern lights. The flower is sleeping in a book called “Iliad” like a mummy. Like in her dream, the flower hears him say while opening the book, “A rose from Homer’s grave.”