English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 618. Sonnets from the Portuguese |
| | | XLI |
| | | Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) |
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| I THANK all who have loved me in their hearts, | |
| With thanks and love from mine. Deep thanks to all | |
| Who paused a little near the prison-wall | |
| To hear my music in its louder parts | |
| Ere they went onward, each one to the mart’s | 5 |
| Or temple’s occupation, beyond call. | |
| But thou, who, in my voice’s sink and fall | |
| When the sob took it, thy divinest Art’s | |
| Own instrument didst drop down at thy foot | |
| To hearken what I said between my tears, … | 10 |
| Instruct me how to thank thee! Oh, to shoot | |
| My soul’s full meaning into future years, | |
| That they should lend it utterance, and salute | |
| Love that endures, from Life that disappears! | |
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