 | Marah |  |
98
LOVE'S LABOUR LOST
1
In the old Piazza at Florence a statue of David stands.'Tis the masterful work of Michael Angelo's marvellous art,
Yet a failure nevertheless: for it came to the master's hands,
Not a virgin block intact, but already rough-hewn in part.
2
And what Mino da Fiesole did to it, Angelo could not undo.So the work was but half his own. It is finish'd, yet incomplete.
99
So are you at this moment to me: an achievement, and yet a defeat!
3
'Tis that others have been before me, of whose touch you retain the trace.You are half my work, half theirs. Thro' your spirit and flesh disperst
Is the mark of a love not mine, that my own love cannot efface.
For you were not virgin marble when you came to my hands at first.
| Marah | |