To Chloe
Who for his sake wished herself younger
THERE are two births; the one when light
First strikes the new awaken’d sense;
The other when two souls unite,
And we must count our life from thence:
When you loved me and I loved you
Then both of us were born anew.
Love then to us new souls did give
And in those souls did plant new powers;
Since when another life we live,
The breath we breathe is his, not ours:
Love makes those young whom age doth chill,
And whom he finds young keeps young still.
Falsehood
STILL do the stars impart their light
To those that travel in the night;
Still time runs on, nor doth the hand
Or shadow on the dial stand;
The streams still glide and constant are:
Only thy mind
Untrue I find,
Which carelessly
Neglects to be
Like stream or shadow, hand or star.
Fool that I am! I do recall
My words, and swear thou’rt like them all,
Thou seem’st like stars to nourish fire,
But O how cold is thy desire!
And like the hand upon the brass
Thou point’st at me
In mockery;
If I come nigh
Shade-like thou’lt fly,
And as the stream with murmur pass.