NO mistress of the hidden skill, No wizard gaunt and grim, Went up by night to heath or hill, To read the stars for him; The merriest girl in all the land Of vine-encircled France Bestow'd upon his brow and hand Her philosophic glance: "I bind thee with a spell," said she, "I sign thee with a sign; No woman's love shall light on thee, No woman's heart be thine! "And trust me, 't is not that thy cheek Is colourless and cold, Nor that thine eye is slow to speak What only eyes have told; For many a cheek of paler white Hath blush'd with passion's kiss; And many an eye of lesser light Hath caught its fire from bliss; Yet while the rivers seek the sea, And while the young stars shine, No woman's love shall light on thee, No woman's heart be thine! "And 't is not that thy spirit, awed By beauty's numbing spell, Shrinks from the force or from the fraud Which beauty loves so well; For thou hast learn'd to watch and wake, And swear by earth and sky; And thou art very bold to take What we must still deny; I cannot tell: the charm was wrought By other threads than mine, The lips are lightly begg'd or bought, The heart may not be thine! "Yet thine the brightest smile shall be That ever beauty wore, And confidence from two or three, And compliments from more; And one shall give, perchance hath given, What only is not love, -- Friendship, oh! such as saints in heaven Rain on us from above. If she shall meet thee in the bower, Or name thee in the shrine, Oh! wear the ring, and guard the flower, -- Her heart may not be thine! "Go, set thy boat before the blast, Thy breast before the gun, -- The haven shall be reach'd at last, The battle shall be won; Or muse upon thy country's laws, Or strike thy country's lute, And patriot hands shall sound applause, And lovely lips be mute: Go, dig the diamond from the wave, The treasure from the mine, Enjoy the wreath, the gold, the grave, -- No woman's heart is thine! "I charm thee from the agony Which others feel or feign; From anger, and from jealousy, From doubt, and from disdain; I bid thee wear the scorn of years Upon the cheek of youth, And curl the lip at passion's tears, And shake the head at truth: While there is bliss in revelry, Forgetfulness in wine, Be thou from woman's love as free As woman is from thine!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HOMAGE TO SEXTUS PROPERTIUS: 2 by EZRA POUND WALT WHITMAN by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON COLD HANDS WARM HEART by KAREN SWENSON EPIGRAM: HERO AND LEANDER by JOHN DONNE A SMUGGLER'S SONG by RUDYARD KIPLING THE NINETEENTH OF APRIL, 1861 by LUCY LARCOM |