| Hunt and Lee, comps. The Book of the Sonnet. 1867. | | | | II. Tears | | By Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) |
| | | THANK God, bless God, all ye who suffer not | |
| More grief than ye can weep for. That is well,— | |
| That is light grieving! lighter, none befell, | |
| Since Adam forfeited the primal lot. | |
| Tears! what are tears? The babe weeps in its cot, | 5 |
| The mother singing; at her marriage-bell, | |
| The bride weeps; and before the oracle | |
| Of high-faned hills, the poet hath forgot | |
| That moisture on his cheeks. Thank God for grace, | |
| Whoever weep; albeit, as some have done, | 10 |
| Ye grope tear-blinded, in a desert place, | |
| And touch but tombs,—look up! Those tears will run | |
| Soon, in long rivers, down the lifted face, | |
| And leave the vision clear for stars and sun. | | | | |
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