RESERVE.
Now would I learn thee like some noble task
That payeth well for labour; I would find
Thy soul's true Dominant, and thus unwind
Its deeper, rarer harmonies, that ask
Interpreting; for like a gracious mask
Is thy calm, quiet bearing; far behind
Thy spirit sits and smiles in sunshine kind,
And fain within that fulness mine would bask:
Set if thou wilt this bar betwixt thy tide
Of feeling and the world that might misknow
Its strength; use ever with the crowd this pride,
"Thus far, and yet no farther shall ye go;"
But not with me, dear friend, whose heart stands wide
To drink in all thy Being's overflow.
That payeth well for labour; I would find
Thy soul's true Dominant, and thus unwind
Its deeper, rarer harmonies, that ask
Interpreting; for like a gracious mask
Is thy calm, quiet bearing; far behind
Thy spirit sits and smiles in sunshine kind,
And fain within that fulness mine would bask:
Set if thou wilt this bar betwixt thy tide
Of feeling and the world that might misknow
Its strength; use ever with the crowd this pride,
"Thus far, and yet no farther shall ye go;"
But not with me, dear friend, whose heart stands wide
To drink in all thy Being's overflow.
