A rose is still a rose (even a little one)

I'm not the biggest fan of "The House of Life," the sonnet sequence by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It's a Victorian-era classic, no doubt, but I just think Rossetti's real gift was for painting. That his verse was as good as it was is amazing.

OK, that said, I think one of his sisters was his superior when it came to the written word. Christina Rossetti is best known for a children's story (in verse), and for the words to a beautiful Christmas hymn.

However, this reputation does not convey fully her poet's skill and versatility. Allow me to provide at least this link to the treasure trove of high-quality verse this lady left us. Try

http://gutenberg.org/etext/19188

Or, perhaps better still, you might search your local bookseller for the Penguin Classics paperback of her complete poems.

She has several sonnet sequences of her own you may wish to explore.

My list of award winners is almost complete. I hope to have it for you next time.