Poetry
Love's Fragility
HARD above all things mortal is To sacrifice true love's return : We shudder and are bare of bliss, And our hearts mourn.
For love is lighter than men say ; None has been known as light as he. His whole profundity is play, Pleasant to see.
He's born in the unspoken word Or the quick intercourse of eyes.
A touch, and all his power is stirred ; He sings, he flies.
He veers and trembles at a breath, As mutable as thistle-down.
He faints, and he is sick to death For a mere frown.
Some bring report of other lands Where love's fragility is strong. They compass him with iron bands ; He suffers long.
They cast him in a dungeon-keep ; He digs and burrows like a mole : For forty days denying sleep, Yet issues whole.
I well believe that love is strong To bear the heaviest dint of doom ; Confronts the tempest with a song ; Conquers the tomb.
I well believe that love is firm When love is fostered between two : Mortality can set no term If both be true.
But oh, how weak the love of one, If counterchange of love's forbad ; If love is plaintive and alone, And poor and sad.
The mouth is filled with bitterness ; The echoing air is cold with scorn. We shudder and are bare of bliss,
And our hearts mourn.. ALAN PORITA.
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