Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ENGAGEMENT, by MERRILL ARTHUR YOTHERS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ENGAGEMENT, by                    
First Line: Beloved, I have pondered upon the meaning of your words
Last Line: And blossom -- and through death!
Subject(s): Courtship


Beloved, I have pondered upon the meaning of your words,
Upon the fullness of their meaning to me;
Upon what it means that you have asked of me,
And what I shall ask and give in loving you.
What shall our loving bring to you and me?
Bud, blossom, fruit, and then at last decay,
Decay and death, is this then what we hope for,
This the fullness of our love?
But then again, I think, decay and death
Come even without love's hopes;
Without love's immortal fruits,
They come, alas, and there is naught
Outside of love when they do come,
To make our lives immortal and redeem death,
And outside of love there are no buds,
No blossoms and no fruit,
But decay alone and everlasting death.

Therefore, beloved, I consecrate to thee
My body and my soul entire,
That in love's crucible our souls may grow
Immortal, and the chrism of life be reached;
For love is life through bud and fruit
And blossom -- and through death!





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