Poems (Greenwell)/To Josephine
TO JOSEPHINE.AN APOLOGY.
I thought of Shakspere saying long ago, That forms were but devised to set a gloss On hollow welcomes, making up the loss Of kindness, with their faint, unreal show, When Thou to give me greeting didst upraise Thy gracious head, bowed ever lowly down As if thou didst incline to meet thy crown Of Blessing, and of Favour and of Praise; Then looking for the first time in thine eyes, My soul rushed up to thine, and did disclaim All set approaches, swift to recognise Its kindred—and I called thee by thy name!