Blackberries :: :: University of Virginia Library

My Darling, you have no father or mother;
My Sweet, you have neither sister nor brother;
You are yourself, and I am I,
And we love each other infinitely;
No one hath part in our life or love
But you and I and the Lord above.

[To-day since I have seen her face]

To-day since I have seen her face
Let meaner picture not erase
Nor blur it: I would close mine eyes
Casket-fast, to hold the prize,
Or bid Sleep come at once, and give
One Dream, to make that image live.

[The expectancy of joy]

The expectancy of joy
In the fancy of a Boy,
Even thou could'st not fulfil it, O Helena of Troy!

[Ev'n in thy arms, O Fair!]

Ev'n in thy arms, O Fair!
I long to be alone
To sigh and weep and moan
For a far higher love
Than I have ever known:
Its dream comes in above
And drives me to despair.

[Tho' bright with youthful bloom and grace]

Tho' bright with youthful bloom and grace,
Eternal beauty hath no place
In this so much admirèd face.

True Beauty is the flow'r and sign
Of something inward far more fine;
Its source mysterious and divine.

[Mary would have loved me well]

Mary would have loved me well
Could I but have let her;
Mary's gone, and, sooth to tell,
Sorely I regret her.
Were she here—much I fear
We should do no better.

[O girl of comely form and face]

O girl of comely form and face,
Were half the sweetness and the grace
Within thy soul, how precious thou!
Mere lovely cloud or blossom now.

Ungrateful! when such dear delight
Flows to me from her very sight.
And can I see her soul aright?
God's index we must never slight.

Yet, stay: how much is drawn from race?
How much to culture should we trace?
How much is bloom of health and youth?
How much her own, in deepest truth?

And what do all these questions prove?
This plainly—you are not in love
With Fiordilisa; else, I swear,
You'd find her past expression fair;
And how or why, would nothing care.

[I laugh'd in Pleasure's face]

I laugh'd in Pleasure's face,
“Your wiles I clearly trace;”
She frowning said, “I trow,
'Tis time for you to go,
This world's for you no place.”
“Nay, nay, still grant me grace,”
Said I, “and let us hold
As friends if not as lovers
(For love no flaw discovers),
Not lovers as of old.”
Since then, I fear, she's cold,
And turns away her face.

[“I will have none but a Queen]

“I will have none but a Queen;
A Queen will never have me;
And, therefore, alack and well-a-day!
Alone must I be.”

“Let only thy true right sweetheart,
By favour of Heaven be seen,
And if thou ownest a loyal heart
Thou hast found thy Queen.”

[Whenever I see from my loneliness]

Whenever I see from my loneliness
Two to each other kindly press,
I envy not, but in grateful mood
Rejoice that earth holds thus much good.

[Not a Venus-Minerva could charm if she lack'd]

Not a Venus-Minerva could charm if she lack'd
The one little quality, feminine tact.

[For a woman's true thought in wait you must lie]

For a woman's true thought in wait you must lie;
She won't tell it plump, but will by-the-by.

[If any two can live together well]

If any two can live together well,
'Tis (and yet such things are) a miracle!

[By your withholdings you have lost his heart]

By your withholdings you have lost his heart,
And by your grantings, luckless Girl, in part:
So sensitive a plant to heat and chill
Is fickle fancy in an idle will.

[To be Prince, many men would refuse]

To be Prince, many men would refuse;
To be Princess, all women would choose.

[Of Wives it were hard to bear]

Of Wives it were hard to bear,
The one who completed with care
All duties, were hardest, I swear!

[With whom were it a grievous lot to live?]

With whom were it a grievous lot to live?
A Woman, stupid and yet sensitive.

[Old Man may captivate Miss in her teens]

Old Man may captivate Miss in her teens;
She does not well know what white hair means.
Her own locks fading, then in truth
She grows to respect the graces of youth.

[Beware what you discover]

Beware what you discover
Even to your lover:
He may by-and-by
Look with alter'd eye.

[Women, in and out of season]

Women, in and out of season,
Act on great men's public lives:
Truly now, the Turks have reason
In their management of wives!

[Men's wives' opinions, what are they to us?]

Men's wives' opinions, what are they to us?
Much. M. to please his wife writes thus and thus;
And books like M.'s are our Leviticus.
N., too, to please his wife is shy or bold;
And N. a lever of the world doth hold,
Sways Fortune's mighty wheel as it is roll'd.

[A woman's prime is nearly done]

A woman's prime is nearly done
Before a man's is well begun,

[If all might choose their sex, there would not then]

If all might choose their sex, there would not then
Be left one woman to a hundred men.

[A woman will give a man a guinea]

A woman will give a man a guinea
Before she'll lend a woman a penny.
Vice versâ (ask your dame, Sir),
Are not matters just the same, Sir?

[Good Marriage, good Marriage, the greatest prize]

Good Marriage, good Marriage, the greatest prize,
Must that be also a compromise?
Not thoroughly true, patch'd up with lies?
What endless cobwebs tease us, poor flies!

[With a Man for thy mate, be content, O Woman, in married life]

With a Man for thy mate, be content, O Woman, in married life;
Man, be fully content, if thou hast a Woman for wife.

[Right Marriage: elevation in communion]

Right Marriage: elevation in communion,
The joy of perfect freedom, closest union.

[Whatever joys await the blest above]

Whatever joys await the blest above,
No bliss below like happy wedded love.

[Love's lips are always young]

Love's lips are always young;
Love's lore is very old;
If you have ever loved, the key you hold
To all that hath of Love been said or sung.