English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 601. Sonnets from the Portuguese |
| | | XXIV |
| | | Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) |
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| LET the world’s sharpness, like a clasping knife, | |
| Shut in upon itself and do no harm | |
| In this close hand of Love, now soft and warm, | |
| And let us hear no sound of human strife | |
| After the click of the shutting. Life to life— | 5 |
| I lean upon thee, Dear, without alarm, | |
| And feel as safe as guarded by a charm | |
| Against the stab of worldlings, who if rife | |
| Are weak to injure. Very whitely still | |
| The lilies of our lives may reassure | 10 |
| Their blossoms from their roots, accessible | |
| Alone to heavenly dews that drop not fewer, | |
| Growing straight, out of man’s reach, on the hill. | |
| God only, who made us rich, can make us poor. | |
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