I dare not ask to kiss, I dare not beg a smile, Lest having that, or this, I might grow proud the while. No, no, the utmost share Of my desire shall be Only to kiss the air That lately kissèd thee.
This poem appeared in Poem-A-Day on August 24, 2013. Browse the Poem-A-Day archive. This poem is in the public domain.
When I can dare at last to speak your name It shall not be with hushed and reverent speech As if your spirit were beyond the reach Of homely merry things, kind jest or game. Death shall not hide you in some jewelled shrine Nor set you in marmoreal pomp apart, You who still share the ingle of my heart, Participant in every thought of mine. Your name, when I can dare to speak it, dear, Shall still be linked with laughter and with joy. No solemn panegyrist shall destroy My image of you, gay, familiar As in old happy days,—lest I discover Too late I’ve won a saint but lost a lover.
This poem is in the public domain.