Skip to content
1806–1861

XL

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Oh, yes! they love through all this world of ours! I will not gainsay love, called love forsooth: I have heard love talked in my early youth, And since, not so long back but that the flowers

Then gathered, smell still. Mussulmans and Giaours Throw kerchiefs at a smile, and have no ruth For any weeping. Polypheme's white tooth Slips on the nut if, after frequent showers,

The shell is over-smooth,— and not so much Will turn the thing called love, aside to hate Or else to oblivion. But thou art not such A lover, my Beloved! thou canst wait

Through sorrow and sickness, to bring souls to touch, And think it soon when others cry “Too late.”

Cookies on Poetry Cove

We use cookies to remember your language preference and — only with your consent — to learn how Poetry Cove is used. You can change your mind any time.
XL · Elizabeth Barrett Browning · Poetry Cove