Unhappy me, who am not one of them That live with thee in all thy dwelling-places, Thy father and dear mother, on whose faces Thy daily kiss is laid, like a rich gem. Alas! I may not touch thy garment's hem Nor sin with steadfast gazing on thy graces: How shall he live, nor die in thine embraces, Whom thine abandoned beauties not contemn? Yet he will be but one, thy parents two And thy good friends and kindred scarce a score. All mortals else thy sweetness never knew. Happier than most men, then, and favoured more I who in secret love thee, and renew My spirit with the lost good my dreams adore. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TO A REPUBLICAN FRIEND, 1848 by MATTHEW ARNOLD AN ODE TO THE FRAMERS OF THE FRAME BILL by GEORGE GORDON BYRON ONE LIFE by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR A TRIBUTE OF GRASSES by HAMLIN GARLAND RAIN ON A GRAVE by THOMAS HARDY A PRAISE OF HIS LOVE by HENRY HOWARD |