LOVE gives us copious potions of delight, Of pain and ecstasy, and peace and care; Love leads us upward, to the mountain height, And, like an angel, stands beside us there; Then thrusts us, demon-like, in some abyss: Where, in the darkness of despair, we grope, Till, suddenly, Love greets us with a kiss And guides us back to flowery fields of hope. Love makes all wisdom seem but poorest folly, And yet the simplest mind with Love grows wise, The gayest heart he teaches melancholy, Yet glorifies the erstwhile brooding eyes. Love lives on change, and yet at change Love mocks, For Love's whole life is one great paradox. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DEDICATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS: 6. GRUACH by GORDON BOTTOMLEY PATIENCE TAUGHT BY NATURE by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING ON SOME LINES OF LOPE DE VEGA by SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-1784) THE CHILD ALONE: 3. MY KINGDOM by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON MY LETTERS by RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM WALKING HOME AT NIGHT; HUSBAND TO WIFE by WILLIAM BARNES TO SIR JOHN SPENSER KNIGHTE, ALDERMAN OF LONDON by RICHARD BARNFIELD FRAGMENTS INTENDED FOR DEATH'S JEST-BOOK: SORROW by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES |