Love is a shield to hold against the dark, A fire to warm me, shelter from the night; A lamp forever burning, and the spark, The eternal spark that keeps the flame alight. Love is the merchandise not bought or sold, The gift, self-giving, counting not the price; The deep-embedded vein of hidden gold Refined in crucibles of sacrifice. If I may have your love to keep beside me, To hold inviolate, a precious thing, If I may have its steady light to guide me, It will not matter what the years may bring, Nor what the years may take beyond recall. If I may have your love I shall have all. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...PEDANTIC LITERALIST by MARIANNE MOORE THE BAD CHILD'S BOOK OF BEASTS: INTRODUCTION by HILAIRE BELLOC OLD MEN ON THE COURTHOUSE LAWN, MURRAY, KENTUCKY by JAMES GALVIN THE JOBHOLDER by DAVID IGNATOW CHRISTMAS AT INDIAN POINT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |