How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose (7-8)
The speaker describes the way his lover opens him emotionally to the way spring makes flowers bloom. Using spring and blooming flowers to represent growing love is definitely no new thing. The idea is so ingrained in our culture that somebody can talk about love "blossoming" without anybody even really thinking about flowers.
Quote #2
my life will shut very beautifully,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending; (10-12)
The speaker doesn't use the word "winter," but once he mentions snow falling, that's of course what flurries into our minds. Here he uses a simile to compare the way his lover can close him emotionally to the way a flower closes in cold weather. What's interesting is that the speaker doesn't act like this is a bad thing. It's like he's in harmony with the power his lover has over him in the same way flowers are in harmony with the seasons.
Quote #3
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses) (19)
The speaker carries through this whole rose thing here and makes it seem like his lover is more powerful. It seems like it carries though the whole idea of flowers being in the control of the seasons. The voice of her eyes is deeper, so it's something that no rose can hold a thorn to.