The 'bed / Of crimson joy' appears to be a reference to sexuality, but the use of the word 'crimson' in this context gives disturbing connotations of blood. Rather than there being any joyful openness, or even any sense of mutual warmth about the union between male and female in this poem, we find that the 'worm' has 'found out' this bed; his 'love' is 'dark' and 'secret' and its effect on the rose is destructive. The reversing of the natural word order to enable the last line of the poem to finish with the word 'destroy' gives the poem additional power.