Poems (Hardy)/A sonnet of stars and the sonnet
A SONNET OF STARS AND THE SONNET
COME watch with me, Dear Heart, the seventh white star That shines above the hill. Ah, wait seven more That dart red rays; recount them all beforeThe new moon sets behind that cloudy barAcross the glowing west. What those worlds are My words would fain be, most of all—a lore To speak the heart in, tinctured to the coreWith light and flame, those orbs exceeding far:A little tale of red and white,—of flame And fire; rose-love, and lily-truth, twice told In mystic seven twice over; chanted yetAgain, O Love, close to thine ear, a name Just audible to thee, for thee to hold And have until the stars themselves forget.