Andromeda, and Other Poems/Margaret to Dolcino
MARGARET TO DOLCINO.
ASK if I love thee? Oh, smiles cannot tellPlainer what tears are now showing too well. Had I not loved thee, my sky had been clear: Had I not loved thee, I had not been here, Weeping by thee!
Ask if I love thee? How else could I borrow Pride from man's slander, and strength from my sorrow? Laugh when they sneer at the fanatic's bride, Knowing no bliss, save to toil and abide Weeping by thee!