"Give a man"
Give a man a horse he can ride,
Give a man a boat he can sail,
And his rank and wealth, his strength and health
On sea nor shore shall fail.
Give a man a pipe he can smoke,
Give a man a book he can read;
And his home is a bright with a calm delight,
Though the room be poor indeed.
Give a man a girl he can love,
As I, O my love, love thee;
And his hand is great with the pulse of Fate,
At home, on land, on sea.
-James Thomson-
"How Do I Love Thee?"
How Do I Love Thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quite need, my son and candle-light
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's Faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!-and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
-Elizabeth Barrett Browning-
"To My Native Land"
Beloved Land, let me explain to thee
Why thought of nearing death provokes a pain;
'Tis not that I again shall never see
These Orient Isles of kindly sun and rain;
Not that the visionary spirit must
Forego the wonders she had fondly schemed;
Not that the flesh must soon succumb to dust,
With Love's avowals only half redeemed.
O my beloved Land, whose air I breathe,
Whose bounty is my daily sustenance,
How sad to leave with nothing to bequeath,
Thy weal to serve, thy glory to enhance;
How shameful, finally, to dare to rest
My thankless dust upon thy noble breast!
-Tarrosa Subido-
