University of Virginia Library

I

I raised my arms to heaven in agony
And cried out wildly, “Frail are women fair!
Their love is as a breath of sunlit air
Or white cloud floating o'er a summer sea.
What is her passion of soul compared to me,
Me—for the storm-wreaths nestle in my hair
And I the inexorable anguish bear
Of one whose love outstrips eternity.
“Her love is measured by the sands of time,—
But mine is as the mountains or the stars:
It snaps all manacles, it laughs at bars,
Nor findeth the high blue airs too sublime.
Her love is dainty as a rose's wings,—
But through the plumes of mine the thunder sings.”