One Perfect Rose

The poem by Parker uses the classical symbol of a rose. Which usually represents love and romance, Parker puts her own spin on this common symbol. She describes how a rose is fragile and how your heart is enclosed in it. She goes on to describe it's perfect smell, and pure image. These descriptions reiterate and strengthen our previous definitions of a rose's symbolism. In the last few lines, we see a change in the entire view of the poem, by asking "why not a limousine?" This shows that a rose is nice and all, but regardless, it is still just a flower. I think that she sees the rose as a cheap, somewhat, crappy gift, and would much rather have her lover show his affection through materialistic goods.