General William Booth enters into Heaven, and other poems/Beyond the Moon
BEYOND THE MOON
[Written to the Most Beautiful Woman in the World]
MY Sweetheart is the truth beyond the moon,
And never have I been in love with Woman,
Always aspiring to be set in tune
With one who is invisible, inhuman.
O laughing girl, cold truth has stepped between,
Spoiling the fevers of your virgin face:
Making your shining eyes but lead and clay,
Mocking your brilliant brain and lady's grace.
Truth haunted me the day I wooed and lost,
The day I wooed and won, or wooed in play:
Tho' you were Juliet or Rosalind,
Thus shall it be, forever and a day.
I doubt my vows, tho' sword on my own blood,
Tho' I draw toward you weeping, soul to soul,
I have a lonely goal beyond the moon;
Ay, beyond Heaven and Hell, I have a goal!