Posthumous Poems/The White Maid's Wooing

by Algernon Charles Swinburne

THE WHITE MAID'S WOOING

"How will you woo her,
 This white maid of thine?
With breaking of wastel,
 Or pouring of wine?"

Not with pouring of cups
 Or with breaking of bread;
But with wood that is cloven,
 And wine that is red.

With rings will I woo her,
 With chains will I wed;
With ships that are broken,
 With blood that is shed.

Not with gold for a ring,
 Nor with kisses on lips,
But with slaying of sailors
 And breaking of ships.

"And how will you tame her,
 This mad maid of thine?
With kisses for seal,
 Or with gold for a sign?"

With a bit for the mouth,
 And a ring for the hand;
With a neck-chain of foam,
 Or a waist-chain of sand.

With the wind for a seal,
 And the sun for a sign;
And so I will wed her,
 This white wife of mine.