LOVE springs as lightly from the human heart As springs the lovely rose upon the brier, Which turns the common hedge to floral fire, As Love wings Time with rosy-feathered dart. But marriage is the subtlest work of art Of all the arts which lift the spirit higher; The incarnation of the heart's desire -- Which masters Time -- set on Man's will apart. The Many try, but oh! how few are they To whom that finest of the arts is given Which shall teach Love, the rosy runaway, To bide from bridal Morn to brooding Even. Yet this -- this only -- is the narrow way By which, while yet on earth, we enter heaven. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IVY by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE WIFE A-LOST by WILLIAM BARNES NO PLATONIQUE LOVE by WILLIAM CARTWRIGHT A HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER by JOHN DONNE THE FRAILTY AND HURTFULNESS OF BEAUTY by HENRY HOWARD THE BALLAD OF EAST AND WEST by RUDYARD KIPLING THE KING OF DENMARK'S RIDE by CAROLINE ELIZABETH SARAH SHERIDAN NORTON |