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The White Rose symbolises pure Love that is lived and enjoyed
I am a rose of Sharon, A lily of the valleys.
As a lily among thorns (like a rose among thorns), So is my love among the daughters.
As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting-house, And his banner over me was love.
Stay ye me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am sick from love.
His left hand is under my head, And his right hand doth embrace me.
I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, Until he please.
(Song of Songs 2,1-7)
Love takes time and has its ups and downs
The woman goes on a date with her lover, who is in the role of the shepherd. His true feelings are expressed by his admiration of her beauty enhanced by her elegance which reminds of the chariot of a Pharaoh.
She answers by praising the intimacy and the amazement that his presence, symbolized by thistle and myrrh, gives her. While he admires his beloved one’s beauty, she reciprocates. They continue making compliments to one another until he compliments her self-comparison with two common flowers, the narcissus and the lily (the rose) of the land of Saron. She reciprocates with a comparison that sheds a positive light on the man, to which she refers in the third person. The woman introduces the metaphor of the apple tree to show the delights of his love (shadow and fruit). This way, she is forced to talk about her love troubles, another common theme. The paradox lies in the fact that what gives her a heartache also heals her. The dialogue closes with the abrupt entrance of the Daugthers, in which a refrain can be noticed. The woman describes her embrace with the loved one and begs him not to awaken Love “until the right time”. What is at stake here isn’t the prohibition to wake up our beloved on. The lesson is this: love isn’t an artificial or calculated thing; it takes time. The exhortation to the “wild gazelles and deers” is unique, and makes us think about the divinity, or Lord of the armies. (Song of Songs 2,1-7 commentary)