Sara Teasdale, comp. (1884–1933).
The Answering Voice: One Hundred Love Lyrics by Women. 1917.

“Oh, the Burden, the Burden of Love Ungiven”

Grace Fallow Norton

OH, the burden, the burden of love ungiven,

The weight of laughter unshed,

Oh, heavy caresses, unblown tendernesses,

Oh, love-words unsung and unsaid.

Oh, the burden, the burden of love unspoken,

The cramp of silence close-furled,

To lips that would utter, to hands that would scatter

Love’s seed on the paths of the world.

Oh, the heavy burden of love ungiven:

My breast doth this burden bear;

Deep in my bosom the unblown blossom—

My world-love that withers there.