The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti A variorum edition: Edited, with textual notes and introductions, by R. W. Crump |
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“Not yours but you.” |
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 | The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti |  |
“Not yours but you.”
He died for me: what can I offer Him?Toward Him swells incense of perpetual prayer;
His court wear crowns and aureoles round their hair;
His ministers are subtle cherubim,
Ring within ring, white intense seraphim
Leap like immortal lightnings thro' the air:
What shall I offer Him? defiled and bare
My spirit broken and my brightness dim.—
Give Me thy youth;—I yield it to Thy rod
As Thou didst yield Thy prime of youth for me:—
Give Me thy life;—I give it breath by breath
As Thou didst give Thy life so give I Thee:—
Give Me thy love;—So be it, my God, my God,
As Thou hast loved me even to bitter death.
| The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti | |