Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ONE PERSON: 16, by ELINOR WYLIE



Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ONE PERSON: 16, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I hereby swear that to uphold your house
Last Line: I bear a little more than I can bear.
Alternate Author Name(s): Benet, William Rose, Mrs.
Subject(s): Love; Worship


I hereby swear that to uphold your house
I would lay my bones in quick destroying lime
Or turn my flesh to timber for all time;
Cut down my womanhood; lop off the boughs
Of that perpetual ecstasy that grows
From the heart's core; condemn it as a crime
If it be broader than a beam, or climb
Above the stature that your roof allows.

I am not the hearthstone nor the cornerstone
Within this noble fabric you have builded;
Not by my beauty was its cornice gilded;
Not on my courage were its arches thrown:
My lord, adjudge my strength, and set me where
I bear a little more than I can bear.





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