Legend of the Cherokee Rose

No better symbol exists of the pain
and suffering of the Trail
Where They Cried than the Cherokee Rose.
The mothers of the Cherokee grieved
so much that the chiefs prayed
for a sign to lift the mother's spirits
and give them strength to care for their children.
From that day forward, a beautiful new flower,
a rose, grew wherever a
mother's tear fell to the ground.
The rose is white,
for the mother's tears.
It has a gold center,
for the gold taken from
the Cherokee lands, and seven leaves
on each stem that represent the
seven Cherokee clans that made the journey.
To this day, the Cherokee Rose
prospers along the route of the "Trail of Tears".
The Cherokee Rose is now the
official flower of the State of Georgia.