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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE THIRD PROPOSITION by MARY AINGE DE VERE

First Line: IF I WERE THINE, I'D FAIL NOT OF ENDEAVOUR
Last Line: IF WE WERE OURS!
Subject(s): CYNICISM; LOVE;

IF I were thine, I'd fail not of endeavour
The loftiest,
To make thy daily life, now and forever,
Supremely blest --
I'd watch thy moods, I'd toil and wait, with yearning,
Incessant incense at thy dear shrine burning,
If I were thine.

If thou wert mine, quite changed would be these features.
Then, I suspect,
Thou wouldst the humblest prove of loving creatures,
And not object
To do the very things I am declaring
I'd undertake for @3thee@1, with selfless daring,
If thou wert mine.

If we were ours? And now, here comes the riddle!
How would that work?
I'm sure @3you'd@1 never stoop to second fiddle,
And -- I might shirk
The part of serf. And, likewise, each might neither
Be willing slave or servitor of either,
If we were ours!



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