Classic and Contemporary Poetry
A VINDICATION, by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) First Line: I claim the eternal right to love, without conditions Last Line: Till he restored thee, smiling, unto me. Subject(s): Future Life; Hearts; Love; Passion; Retribution; Eternity; After Life | ||||||||
I. I claim the eternal right to love,without conditions. To crown thee with my love, and crown thee with love's visions, Though all men stand i' the way. Oh, is not Love enough? If in a golden carriage, Sweet, thou wast drawn along, towards a golden marriage, Could Love have more triumphant words to say? II. I love thee with my soul. Heaven knows I love thee truly. Each time I see thy face, the tide of love flows newly Round laughing happier shores. Each time I see thine eyes, my soul bursts into gladness And every swift pulse throbs with passion's mirth and madness, And all the poethood within me adores. III. What do I give? Why, love. And, if a prince besought thee And to his gilded house of regal pleasure brought thee, Could he do more than I? Is there in this wild world one great exceeding treasure That hath, like passionate love, nor bound nor mate nor measure, Spreading wide wings co-equal with the sky? IV. Ah! marriage hath its gifts. It hath its pleasures waiting: Rich jewels and priceless robes,and life behind a grating: Rubies,and prison-bars: Bright emeralds, diamonds, pearls,yet never love's free laughter: Rank, wealth, and friends,and deep heart-sickness following after: Gay frescoed walls and ceilings,not the stars. V. Have others prayed to be so pure that prayer might aid thee? Have others at thy gate lest hostile spears invade thee Watched, night on night indeed? Who yearns as I have yearned? Who follows as I follow? Has love no awful rights when all rights else ring hollow? Is love not just the crown of Christ's own creed? VI. Who has seen thy soul but I? Who of the men who watch thee, O flower of mine, and from thy dainty stem would snatch thee, Wear,tire,then cast away Which of them all has loved, or will love, as I love thee? Would bend for sacred hours, O fairy flower, above thee, Yet leave thee smiling on thy parent spray? VII. Nay, the soul knows the soul. Of all things sad and deadly To yield a woman back into life's loveless medley When once the souls have met Is just the deadliest and saddest and most grievous: The very stars cry out "For God's sake do not leave us!" When once Love's soul-kiss on their lips is set. VIII. The deep soul sees the soul. A man knows when a woman, Beyond all laws and rules and tests and quibbles human, Belongs, through the great might Of his own fiery love all laws, save Love's, transcending, To him. He knows light love: and love which hath no ending. Love boundless gives infinity of right. IX. Why should I give thee up? Why should I, the possessor Of thy sweet spirit and heart, yield up to any lesser And weaker lover than I These spotless priceless gifts,in that I have no power To give thee more than love's imperishable flower And for thy sake to yearn and battle,and die? X. "No greater love is there than this,"that love be willing To spend its very life, its sacred life-blood spilling Just for another's sake. No greater love hath woman than that a man be ready To stand before her door till death, a sentry steady; Lest any foe therein an entrance make. XI. I stand before thy door. Never shall foeman enter Till fifty spears have made my guardian heart their centre Or targeted my brain. As long as thou dost need thy sentry, thou wilt find me: Were there an army in front, thou wouldst be safe behind me: Safe,till they slew me:and then God would remain. XII. God then would take my shield, and on thy threshold standing Would carry on the strife. My own death notwithstanding, Thou wouldst be safe: for he With all the holy and loyal great manhood of a brother Unto the very death would wrestle with every other Till he restored thee, smiling, unto me. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IKON: THE HARROWING OF HELL by DENISE LEVERTOV LEEK STREET by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR UNABLE TO FIND by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR THE AFTERLIFE: LETTER TO STEPHEN DOBYNS 3 by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE AFTERLIFE: LETTER TO STEPHEN DOBYNS: 1 by HAYDEN CARRUTH THE AFTERLIFE: LETTER TO STEPHEN DOBYNS: 2 by HAYDEN CARRUTH WRITING IN THE AFTERLIFE by BILLY COLLINS A GIFT OF SPRING by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |
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