George Willis Cooke, comp. The Poets of Transcendentalism: An Anthology. 1903.
Loves FulfillingHelen Hunt Jackson (18301885)
O
Which counts the answers and the gains,
Weighs all the losses and the pains,
And eagerly each fond word drains
A joy to seek.
It never tarries to take heed,
Or know if its return exceed
Its gifts; in its sweet haste no greed,
No strifes belong.
If it be loved at all; to take
So barren seems, when it can make
Such bliss, for the belovèd sake,
Of bitter tasks.
Could find hard death so beauteous,
It sees through tears how Christ loved us,
And speaks, in saying “I love thus,”
No blasphemy.
If love is weak, so much we gain
If love is strong, God thinks no pain
Too sharp or lasting to ordain
To teach us this.