Sonnets from the Portuguese: XVI

written by


« Reload image

And yet, because thou overcomest so,Because thou art more noble and like a king,Thou canst prevail against my fears and flingThy purple round me, till my heart shall growToo close against thine heart henceforth to knowHow it shook when alone. Why, conqueringMay prove as lordly and complete a thingIn lifting upward, as in crushing low!And as a vanquished soldier yields his swordTo one who lifts him from the bloody earth,Even so, Belovèd, I at last record,Here ends my strife. If thou invite me forth,I rise above abasement at the word.Make thy love larger to enlarge my worth!

© Elizabeth Barrett Browning