 | Holy of holies |  |
35
XXXI.
['Tis thus I love thee. I look not to gain]
'Tis thus I love thee. I look not to gainLove in return or sympathy. Alone
I shall stand ever, hated, battle-blown,
Self-scorning, scorning others; my lone brain
Struggling forever with the mighty strain
Of hostile god and man. Yet, having known
One wholly noble, I have yet a tone
To vibrate in accord with strong disdain.
For thou disdainest, as my higher soul
(An instinct still untarnished by our deeds)
Disdains all evil and half-hearted good,
Sees clearly to the glittering snow-capped goal
Of wisdom, virtue, poesy, and bleeds
To live forever here in widowhood.
March 12th, 1886.
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