FOR that thy face is fair I love thee not; Nor yet because thy brown benignant eyes Have sudden gleams of gladness and surprise, Like woodland brooks that cross a sunlit spot: Nor for thy body, born without a blot, And loveliest when it shines with no disguise Pure as the star of Eve in Paradise, -- For all these outward things I love thee not: But for a something in thy form and face, Thy looks and ways, of primal harmony; A certain soothing charm, a vital grace That breathes of the eternal womanly, And makes me feel the warmth of Nature's breast, When in her arms, and thine, I sink to rest. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SLAVE SINGING AT MIDNIGHT by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW CEN'LIN, PRINCE OF MERCIA by MATILDA BARBARA BETHAM-EDWARDS UNINITIATED by HARRY RANDOLPH BLYTHE SORROW AND JOY by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES LOVE IN A LIFE by ROBERT BROWNING PLEA FOR TOLERANCE by MARGARET E. BRUNER |