Love ere he bleeds, an eagle in high skies, Has earth beneath his wings: from reddened eve He views the rosy dawn. In vain they weave The fatal web below while far he flies. But when the arrow strikes him, there's a change. He moves but in the track of his spent pain, Whose red drops are the links of a harsh chain, Binding him to the ground, with narrow range. A subtle serpent then has Love become. I had the eagle in my bosom erst: Henceforward with the serpent I am cursed. I can interpret where the mouth is dumb. Speak, and I see the side-lie of a truth. Perchance my heart may pardon you this deed: But be no coward: -- you that made Love bleed, You must bear all the venom of his tooth? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A WOMAN'S LAST WORD by ROBERT BROWNING THE GUARDIAN ANGEL (A PICTURE AT FANO) by ROBERT BROWNING THE BABY, FR. AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND by GEORGE MACDONALD COMMEMORATIVE OF A NAVAL VICTORY by HERMAN MELVILLE THE MYSTIC TRUMPETER by WALT WHITMAN THE FEAST OF THE DEAD by CHARLOTTE BECKER THE CAUSE WON by VINCENT BOURNE EVE'S SONG by ANNA HEMPSTEAD BRANCH EPITAPH ON MR. VAUX, THE PHYSICIAN by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |