The Venture/Blindness
BLINDNESS.
Since I have learned Love's shining alphabet,And spelled in ink what's writ in me in flame,And borne her sacred image richly setHere in my heart to keep me quit of shame;
Since I have learned how wise and passing wiseIs the dear friend whose beauty I extol,And know how sweet a soul looks through the eyesThat are so pure a window to her soul;
Since I have learned how rare a woman showsAs much in all she does as in her looks,And seen the beauty of her shame the rose,And dim the beauty writ about in books;
All I have learned, and can learn, shows me this—How scant, how slight, my knowledge of her is.