English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 611. Sonnets from the Portuguese |
| | | XXXIV |
| | | Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) |
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| WITH the same heart, I said, I’ll answer thee | |
| As those, when thou shalt call me by my name— | |
| Lo, the vain promise! is the same, the same, | |
| Perplexed and ruffled by life’s strategy? | |
| When called before, I told how hastily | 5 |
| I dropped my flowers or brake off from a game, | |
| To run and answer with the smile that came | |
| At play last moment, and went on with me | |
| Through my obedience. When I answer now, | |
| I drop a grave thought, break from solitude; | 10 |
| Yet still my heart goes to thee—ponder how— | |
| Not as to a single good, but all my good! | |
| Lay thy hand on it, best one, and allow | |
| That no child’s foot could run fast as this blood. | |
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