XLI
I thank all who have loved me in their hearts,
With thanks and love from mine. Deep thanks to all
Who paused a little near the prison-wall
To hear my music in its louder parts
Ere they went onward, each one to the mart's
Or temple's occupation, beyond call.
But thou, who, in my voice's sink and fall
When the sob took it, thy divinest Art's
Own instrument didst drop down at thy foot
To hearken what I said between my tears, . . .
Instruct me how to thank thee! Oh, to shoot
My soul's full meaning into future years,
That they should lend it utterance, and salute
Love that endures, from Life that disappears!
More verses by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Sonnet 17 - My Poet, Thou Canst Touch On All The Notes
- Sonnet 34 - With The Same Heart, I Said, I'Ll Answer Thee
- The House Of Clouds
- Sonnet 24 - Let The World's Sharpness, Like A Clasping Knife
- Sonnet 11 - And Therefore If To Love Can Be Desert