The Venture/Marriage in Two Moods
MARRIAGE IN TWO MOODS.
I.Love that's loved from day to dayLoves itself into decay: He that eats one daily fruitShrivels hunger at the root.Daily pleasure grows a task;Daily smiles become a mask.Daily growth of unpruned strengthExpands to feebleness at length.Daily increase thronging fastMust devour itself at last.Daily shining, even content,Would with itself grow discontent;And the Sun's life witnessethDaily dying is not death.So Love loved from day to dayLoves itself into decay.
2Love to daily uses wedShall be sweetly perfected.Life by repetition growsUnto its appointed close:Day to day fulfils the year;Shall not Love by Love wax dear?All piles by repetition rise;Shall not then Loves' edifice?Shall not Love too learn his writ,Like Wisdom, by repeating it?By the oft-repeated useAll perfections gain their thews;And so, with daily uses wed,Love, too, shall be perfected.