Poems (Linn)/The Stronger Love
THE STRONGER LOVE.
WHEN my soul glows beneath thy tender kiss;
When faint from loving, all my heart lies bare
Before thee, then thou sayest, "Love is rare
That is so very strong." Belovèd, this
Is not the strongest love. As they but miss
The splendor of the Lord who seek him where
The loudest chants break the cathedral's air,
So he knows not love's purest, perfect bliss
Who strives in outward signs its power to read.
My strongest love is this, that wills to bear
All shame and sorrow for thee; that at need
Will serve thee, self-forgetting; that will dare
All great things for thee, and in absence heed
No other love, but live the vows I swear.
When faint from loving, all my heart lies bare
Before thee, then thou sayest, "Love is rare
That is so very strong." Belovèd, this
Is not the strongest love. As they but miss
The splendor of the Lord who seek him where
The loudest chants break the cathedral's air,
So he knows not love's purest, perfect bliss
Who strives in outward signs its power to read.
My strongest love is this, that wills to bear
All shame and sorrow for thee; that at need
Will serve thee, self-forgetting; that will dare
All great things for thee, and in absence heed
No other love, but live the vows I swear.