| Nicholson & Lee, eds. The Oxford Book of English Mystical Verse. 1917. |
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| 129. Life of Life |
| By Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (1823–1896) |
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| WHAT’S that, which, ere I spake, was gone! | |
| So joyful and intense a spark | |
| That, whilst o’erhead the wonder shone, | |
| The day, before but dull, grew dark? | |
| I do not know; but this I know, | 5 |
| That, had the splendour lived a year, | |
| The truth that I some heavenly show | |
| Did see, could not be now more clear. | |
| This know I too: might mortal breath | |
| Express the passion then inspired, | 10 |
| Evil would die a natural death, | |
| And nothing transient be desired; | |
| And error from the soul would pass, | |
| And leave the senses pure and strong | |
| As sunbeams. But the best, alas, | 15 |
| Has neither memory nor tongue! | |
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