Classic Poem

Nor only this, though this
Might seal a life of bliss,
But something more divine,
For which I once did pine,
The crown of worlds above,
The heart of every heart, the Soul of Being, — Love!
I bow obedient to my Lady's sway,
The sovereignty that won my soul of yore,
And linger in her presence night and day,
And feel a heaven around her evermore;
I sit beside her couch in chambers lone,
And oft unbraid, and lay her locks apart,
And take her taper fingers in my own,
And press them to my lips with leaps of heart:
Sometimes I kneel to her with cups of wine,
With pleading eyes, beseeching her to taste,
And when she sips thereof, I clasp her waist,
And kiss her budding mouth that answers mine
With long-delaying lips, and shake her curls,
And in her coy despite unloose her zone of pearls!
I live for Love, for Love alone, and who
Dare chide me for it? who dare call it folly?
It is a holy thing, if aught is holy,
And true indeed, if Truth herself is true:
Earth yearns for earth, its sensuous life is dear;
Mortals should love mortality while here,
And seize the glowing hours before they fly:
And eyes should answer eyes, and lips should meet,
And hearts enlocked to kindred hearts should beat,
Till all that live on earth in love should live, and die!