| Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917. |
| |
| 411. A Woman’s Beloved |
| | | By Marguerite Wilkinson |
| | | | | A Psalm |
| |
| |
| TO what shall a woman liken her beloved, | |
| And with what shall she compare him to do him honor? | |
| He is like the close-folded new leaves of the woodbine, odorless, but sweet, | |
| Flushed with a new and swiftly rising life, | |
| Strong to grow and give glad shade in summer. | 5 |
| Even thus should a woman’s beloved shelter her in time of anguish. | |
| |
| And he is like the young robin, eager to try his wings, | |
| For within soft-stirring wings of the spirit has she cherished him, | |
| And with the love of the mother bird shall she embolden him, that his flight may avail. | |
| A woman’s beloved is to her as the roots of the willow, | 10 |
| Long, strong, white roots, bedded lovingly in the dark. | |
| Into the depths of her have gone the roots of his strength and of his pride, | |
| That she may nourish him well and become his fulfilment. | |
| None may tear him from the broad fields where he is planted! | |
| |
| A woman’s beloved is like the sun rising upon the waters, making the dark places light, | 15 |
| And like the morning melody of the pine trees. | |
| Truly, she thinks the roses die joyously | |
| If they are crushed beneath his feet. | |
| A woman’s beloved is to her a great void that she may illumine, | |
| A great king that she may crown, a great soul that she may redeem. | 20 |
| And he is also the perfecting of life, | |
| Flowers for the altar, bread for the lips, wine for the chalice. | |
| |
| You that have known passion, think not that you have fathomed love. | |
| It may be that you have never seen love’s face. | |
| For love thrusts aside storm-clouds of passion to unveil the heavens, | 25 |
| And, in the heart of a woman, only then is love born. | |
| |
| To what shall I liken a woman’s beloved, | |
| And with what shall I compare him to do him honor? | |
| He is a flower, a song, a struggle, a wild storm, | |
| And, at the last, he is redemption, power, joy, fulfilment and perfect peace. | 30 |
| |
|
|
|
