 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 | The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder |  |
VI—“LOVE ME NOT, LOVE, FOR THAT I FIRST LOVED THEE”
Love me not, Love, for that I first loved thee;Nor love me, Love, for thy sweet pity's sake,
In knowledge of the mortal pain and ache
Which is the fruit of love's blood-veinèd tree.
15
From other souls, O, gladly will I take,
This burning, heart-dry thirst of love to slake,
What seas of human pity there may be!
Nay, nay, I care no more how love may grow,
So that I hear thee answer to my call;
Love me because my piteous tears do flow,
Or that my love for thee did first befall.
Love me or late or early, fast or slow—
But love me, Love, for love is all in all!
| The Poems of Richard Watson Gilder | |