Oh could I ask a woman’s love?
I could not, would not drag her down!
I could not gratify a thought
So selfish—wed her to a clown!
No! no! my only hope must be
To rise above this selfish self;
To grow more pure in heart and hope,
To lose myself in her sweet self.
To-night, I say, I saw her; her
Who wakes in me such thoughts as these;