Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SAPPHO AND PHAON: 6. DESCRIBES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LOVE by MARY DARBY ROBINSON

First Line: IS IT TO LOVE, TO FIX THE TENDER GAZE
Last Line: FOR THESE I FEEL, -- AND FEEL THAT THEY ARE LOVE.
Is it to love, to fix the tender gaze,
To hide the timid blush, and steal away;
To shun the busy world, and waste the day
In some rude mountain's solitary maze?
Is it to chant @3one@1 name in ceaseless lays,
To hear no words that other tongues can say,
To watch the pale moon's melancholy ray,
To chide in fondness, and in folly praise?
Is it to pour the involuntary sigh,
To dream of bliss, and wake new pangs to prove;
To talk, in fancy, with the speaking eye,
Then start with jealousy, and wildly rove;
Is it to loathe the light, and wish to die?
For these I feel, -- and feel that they are Love.



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