Читать книгу The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell - James Russell Lowell - Страница 62

Mary, since first I knew thee, to this hour,

My love hath deepened, with my wiser sense

Of what in Woman is to reverence;

Thy clear heart, fresh as e'er was forest-flower,

Still opens more to me its beauteous dower;—

But let praise hush—Love asks no evidence

To prove itself well-placed: we know not whence

It gleans the straws that thatch its humble bower:

We can but say we found it in the heart,

Spring of all sweetest thoughts, arch foe of blame,

Sower of flowers in the dusty mart,

Pure vestal of the poet's holy flame—

This is enough, and we have done our part

If we but keep it spotless as it came.