Classic Poem

BEFORE I trust my fate to thee,
— Or place my hand in thine,
Before I let thy future give
— Color and form to mine,
Before I peril all for thee, question thy soul to-night for me.

I break all slighter bonds, nor feel
— A shadow of regret:
Is there one link within the past
— That holds thy spirit yet?
Or is thy faith as clear and free as that which I can pledge to thee?

Does there within thy dimmest dreams
— A possible future shine,
Wherein thy life could henceforth breathe,
— Untouched, unshared by mine?
If so, at any pain or cost, O, tell me before all is lost.

Look deeper still. If thou canst feel,
— Within thy inmost soul,
That thou hast kept a portion back,
— While I have staked the whole,
Let no false pity spare the blow, but in true mercy tell me so.

Is there within thy heart a need
— That mine cannot fulfil?
One chord that any other hand
— Could better wake or still?
Speak now — lest at some future day my whole life wither and decay.

Lives there within thy nature hid
— The demon-spirit change,
Shedding a passing glory still
— On all things new and strange?
It may not be thy fault alone, — but shield my heart against thy own.

Couldst thou withdraw thy hand one day
— And answer to my claim,
That Fate, and that to-day's mistake —
— Not thou — had been to blame?
Some soothe their conscience thus; but thou wilt surely warn and save me now.

Nay, answer not, — I dare not hear,
— The words would come too late;
Yet I would spare thee all remorse,
— So, comfort thee, my Fate, —
Whatever on my heart may fall — remember, I would risk it all!