Only a Woman
"She loves with love that cannot tire:
And if, ah, woe! she loves alone,
Through passionate duty love flames higher,
As grass grows taller round a stone."
Coventry Patmore.
SO, the truth's out. I 'll grasp it like a snake, --
It will not slay me. My heart shall not break
Awhile, if only for the children's sake.
For his too, somewhat. Let him stand unblamed;
None say, he gave me less than honor claimed,
Except -- one trifle scarcely worth being named --
The heart. That 's gone. The corrupt dead might be
As easily raised up, breathing -- fair to see,
As he could bring his whole heart back to me.
I never sought him in coquettish sport,
Or courted him as silly maidens court,
And wonder when the longed-for prize falls short.
I only loved him -- any woman would:
But shut my love up till he came and sued,
Then poured it o'er his dry life like a flood.
I was so happy I could make him blest!
So happy that I was his first and best,
As he mine -- when he took me to his breast.
Ah me! If only then he had been true!
If for one little year, a month or two,
He had given me love for love, as was my due!
Or had he told me, ere the deed was done,
He only raised me to his heart's dear throne --
Poor substitute -- because his queen was gone!
O, had he whispered, when his sweetest kiss
Was warm upon my mouth in fancied bliss,
He had kissed another woman even as this, --
It were less bitter! Sometimes I could weep
To be thus cheated, like a child asleep: --
Were not my anguish far too dry and deep.
So I built my house upon another's ground;
Mocked with a heart just caught at the rebound --
A cankered thing that looked so firm and sound.
And when that heart grew colder -- colder still,
I, ignorant, tried all duties to fulfil,
Blaming my foolish pain, exacting will,
All -- anything but him. It was to be:
The full draught others drink up carelessly
Was made this bitter Tantalus-cup for me.
I say again -- he gives me all I claimed,
I and my children never shall be shamed:
He is a just man -- he will live unblamed.
Only -- O God, O God, to cry for bread,
And get a stone! Daily to lay my head
Upon a bosom where the old love's dead!
Dead? -- Fool! It never lived. It only stirred
Galvanic, like an hour-cold corpse. None heard:
So let me bury it without a word.
He 'll keep that other woman from my sight.
I know not if her face be foul or bright;
I only know that it was his delight --
As his was mine: I only know he stands
Pale, at the touch of their long-severed hands,
Then to a flickering smile his lips commands,
Lest I should grieve, or jealous anger show.
He need not. When the ship 's gone down, I trow,
We little reck whatever wind may blow.
And so my silent moan begins and ends.
No world's laugh or world's taunt, not pity of friends
Or sneer of foes with this my torment blends.
None knows -- none heeds. I have a little pride;
Enough to stand up, wife-like, by his side,
With the same smile as when I was a bride.
And I shall take his children to my arms;
They will not miss these fading, worthless charms;
Their kiss -- ah! unlike his -- all pain disarms.
And haply, as the solemn years go by,
He will think sometimes with regretful sigh,
The other woman was less true than I.
poem by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Illicit Love
Are you lonely, my love
the love of your life
loves another man?
Are you in pain, my love
the love of your life
needs the other man?
Does your heart ache, my love
the love of your life
cannot forget that man?
Do I hurt you, my love
when I say to you
I can't get over that man?
Can you accept - my love
the love of your life
thinks of the other man
always, all the time?
No - I am not the other woman
in his life - as nothing works
between us...
yet I keep thinking of him
feel so deep for him
and yes - my love
wish to marry him
bed him and beget him
children...
like every woman does
for the man she loves...
Is it too much of a sin, my love
to love more than one man?
Tell me - my love
why do I need him so much
miss him every moment
of my lonesome life
being your wife
I need the husband in him
And yet - I know
I cannot do without you
I cannot choose him over you
do I forget him
and forgive myself
for the sin of being in love
with two men in my life?
Tell me - my love
how do I do this?
I am directionless...
feeling down and out
my heart in pieces
wish I could share
my life with you
and him.
Too much for the asking
I suppose...
I am being avaricious
and may be impractical
Tell me, my love
when was love pragmatic
when was love logical?
when did people say
love had a lot of rationale?
Love was always blind
blind as a bat
love feels with the heart
mind doesn't work
And here I am, my love
at your door-step
in your home
beside you, in your arms
loving you and yet
pondering over him...
Why did God give me so much pain?
Why did He fill my heart with
adulterous love?
Why did Destiny bring me
to this cross-road?
Why do I have to choose
between the two of you?
Sometimes I feel
that I could do
with neither of you
for both of you
are so precious to me
I cannot hurt one
and please the other...
They say: Love is pure,
pristine a feeling
complete devotion
and adulation
for the one man
a woman always loves
and loves for ever...
but what happens to the love
a woman feels for the man in her life
and the other man outside?
Is it so sinful a feeling?
Is it so detesting?
Do all the women
in this world
love only one man
through all their life?
And all the men
just think of only one woman:
their so-called wedded wife?
So many questions
in mind
for a heart that loves
and loves and loves...
the two men
in a woman's life
Any Answers...
poem by Aparna Chatterjee
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Letters
Still on the tower stood the vane,
A black yew gloomed the stagnant air,
I peered athwart the chancel pane
And saw the altar cold and bare.
A clog of lead was round my feet,
A band of pain across my brow;
"Cold altar, Heaven and earth shall meet
Before you hear my marriage vow."
I turned and hummed a bitter song
That mocked the wholesome human heart,
And then we met in wrath and wrong,
We met, but only met to part.
Full cold my greeting was and dry;
She faintly smiled, she hardly moved;
I saw with half-unconscious eye
She wore the colours I approved.
She took the little ivory chest,
With half a sigh she turned the key,
Then raised her head with lips comprest,
And gave my letters back to me.
And gave the trinkets and the rings,
My gifts, when gifts of mine could please;
As looks a father on the things
Of his dead son, I looked on these.
She told me all her friends had said;
I raged against the public liar;
She talked as if her love were dead,
But in my words were seeds of fire.
"No more of love; your sex is known:
I never will be twice deceived.
Henceforth I trust the man alone,
The woman cannot be believed.
Through slander, meanest spawn of Hell -
And woman's slander is the worst,
And you, whom once I loved so well,
Through you, my life will be accurst."
I spoke with heart, and heat and force,
I shook her breast with vague alarms -
Like torrents from a mountain's source
We rushed into each other's arms.
We parted: sweetly gleamed the stars,
And sweet the vapour-braided blue,
Low breezes fanned the belfry bars,
As homeward by the church I drew.
The very graves appeared to smile,
So fresh they rose in shadowed swells;
"Dark porch," I said, "and silent aisle,
There comes a sound of marriage bells."
poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Giacinta
Giacinta sat upon the garden wall
Among the autumn lilies, and let fall
Their crimson petals on her lover's head,
And laughed because her little hands were red.
She was the fairest child of Italy,
And it was well the lilies thus should die.
But Giulio shuddered when she made him kiss
The stains away in her pride's wantonness
And held them up between him and the sun
That he might see the red blood flame and run
In the long finger--clefts from root to tip,
And still she pressed them closer to his lip,
And still she laughed. But Giulio looked at her
And it was half in love and half in fear.
And, when she saw him tremble, childishly
She laid both hands in his, and with a sigh
Told him to pity them. And he in vain
Hid them in his and would have hid his pain,
And tried to speak but could not for the weight
Upon his breast. And so the lovers sat
In a hard silence, while Giacinta's laugh
Rang in his ears like the discordant half
Of some fair carol from a tavern flung,
She watching him above, the flowers among,
First with her smile and then with a hurt pride
Kindling to wrath. And ``Fool'' at last she cried,
``You think because this hand of mine is white
And smooth to touch and wise in love's delight
It had not dared to dabble in such red,
The blood--of these dead flowers--for dead is dead;
And you sit dumb and tremble and turn pale
Because I laugh to see the lilies fall.
Why not laugh with me, since you have the heart
To say you love me in my tragic part?
Think you that blood can make a hand less white,
Or all the ink of heaven blot out to--night
The innocent stars, or kisses steal away
The sweetness of red lips, or memory
Drive laughter from the world? The moon grows wan
And wastes and fades and shrivels to a span,
Yet men watch on beyond the hills at even,
And lo there is a new moon in the heaven!
Look in my eyes. Are they less pure and keen
For all the passion which their depths have seen?
Is there a stain upon my brows? My cheek
Is it less fair for what it dares not speak?
Oh, Simon's blood was not so red a thing
But it has left my face its colouring.
Or think you drops from any vein of his
Could make my fingers blush as deep as this?''
And Giulio's courage sickened when he heard
Giacinta suddenly speak out this word.
She was the fairest child of Italy,
But Giulio thought it had been well to die.
``yet, had it left me pale,'' she said, ``I know
It had been all as one to Giulio
To love a pale face. You will love me yet
Though I have told you how my hands are wet,
And when I hold them out to you to kiss
Your lips will burn to drink away the lees.
Oh, lovers, lovers! Wherefore will you preach,
When women laugh at what you dare to teach
Of truth and honour? Is there one of you,
One honourable friend, one bosom true,
That will not sell his virtue for a kiss
Though the mouth that gave it were a nest of lies,
And will not soothe his soul with the deceit
Which swears a rose is not a whit less sweet
Because an angry bee was in its cell
An hour ago?--Oh, lovers reason well!
So take the flower and deign forget the bee.
But Giulio, do not bid me stop and see
How beautiful a thing your virtue is,
And do not cry to the unheeding skies
`Did I not love her?' See, I hate your love
More than I hate yourself.'' And Giulio strove
With his weak heart and could not bear the pain.
And so he took Giacinta's hand again,
Without more word. But she in softened mood
Looked on the boy her beauty had subdued,
And said ``Poor Giulio! I have never shown
Much hate to you, and this you needs must own,
Only beware of loving me. 'Tis strange
That men are wise, yet cannot take the range
Of a silly woman's mind, but still devise
Of their fool's love, as if it were the prize
For which a woman might forget the cost
Of her undoing and a world well lost,
And cannot see that love is only this,
A pretty word to whisper in a kiss,
As when one says, `God bless you' with `Good--night.'
But Giulio, who would ever suffer it
A man should always have the name of God
Upon his lips?'' Her lover only trod
The lilies with his heel. At last he sighed,
``And Simon loved you, and for this he died?''
They sat till dusk upon the garden wall,
And she began to sing a madrigal
About the falling leaves and quite forgot
To answer him. But Giulio heeded not
Because he held her hand. He could not flee.
She was the fairest child of Italy.
poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Want To
Joe tex
I want to hold you in my arms till you say turn me loose
I want to do little things to you till you say it ain't no use
I want to wake you every morning with a good morning kiss
I want to kiss you to sleep the same way cause i, i know you like this
I want to do everything for you
Cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like i love you
And i love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to say sweet things to you till you say i've said enough
I want to stand right by your side when the goin' gets tough
I want to mend your broken heart till you say the hurt is gone
I want tostay with you always so that you won't be alone
I want to do everything for you
Cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like i love you
And i love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to work for you every day till you say come home and rest
I want to buy you pretty little things so you can look your best
I want to take you every where so the world can see what i got
I want to treat you with tender love till you say i've got to stop
I want to do everything for you
cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like i love you
And i love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to do everything for you
Cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like i love you
And i love ya, love ya, love ya, love ya
song performed by by Nazareth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Want To Do Everything For You
I want to hold you in my arms 'till you say "turn me loose"
I want to do little things to you 'till you say "It ain't no use"
I want to wake you every morning with a good morning kiss
I want to kiss you to sleep the same way cause I, I know you like this
I want to do everything for you
Cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to say sweet things to you 'till you say I've said enough
I want to stand right by your side when the goin' gets tough
I want to mend your broken heart till you say the hurt is gone
I want tostay with you always so that you won't be alone
I want to do everything for you
Cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to work for you every day 'till you say "come home and rest"
I want to buy you pretty little things so you can look your best
I want to take you every where so the world can see what I got
I want to treat you with tender love 'till you say I've got to stop
I want to do everything for you
'Cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to do everything for you
Cause that's all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya, love ya
song performed by by Nazareth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Want To (Do Everything)
Joe tex
I want to hold you in my arms till you say turn me loose
I want to do little things to you till you say it aint no use
I want to wake you every morning with a good morning kiss
I want to kiss you to sleep the same way cause i, I know you like this
I want to do everything for you
Cause thats all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to say sweet things to you till you say Ive said enough
I want to stand right by your side when the goin gets tough
I want to mend your broken heart till you say the hurt is gone
I want tostay with you always so that you wont be alone
I want to do everything for you
Cause thats all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to work for you every day till you say come home and rest
I want to buy you pretty little things so you can look your best
I want to take you every where so the world can see what I got
I want to treat you with tender love till you say Ive got to stop
I want to do everything for you
cause thats all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya
I want to do everything for you
Cause thats all that a man can do
When he loves a woman like I love you
And I love ya, love ya, love ya, love ya
song performed by by Nazareth
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Woman at the Cross-roads
(Her lover speaks.)
AN equal love between a man and woman,
This is the only charm to set us free,
And this the only omen
Of immortality.
Only for us the long, long war is over
Between our aspiring spirits,
And all the flesh inherits,
Because, dear saint, your soul no less
Has got a lover,
Than has your body's long slim loveliness.
Ah, my beloved, think not renunciation
Of such a love as ours
Will bring you any strengthening of your powers,
Or calm, or dignity, or peace of mind
To be compared with that which you will find
In love's full consummation.
Talk not to me of other, older ties,
Of duty, and of narrower destinies,
Nor bid me see that we have met too late,
While we have lips and eyes
To kiss and call;
But rather thank our fate,
For this mad gift - that we have met at all.
Come to me then. Ah, must I bid you come?
Your heart is mine. Is then your will so loath?
Leave him from whom your spirit long since fled,
Whose house is not your home; your only home,
Although the same roof never cover both,
Is where I am, until we both are dead.
(Her child speaks.)
Why do you look at me with such a shade
Upon your eyes, so still and steadily?
I am not naughty, but I am afraid;
I know not why.
The world is huge and puzzling and perverse -
Even my nurse,
When most my heart is stirred,
Will put me by, with some complacent word;
Or, if she listens, in a little while
Babbles my deepest secret with a smile,
My mother, oh my mother, only you
Are kind and just and honorable and true.
Others are fond, others will play and sing,
Will kiss me, or will let me kiss and cling;
But only you, my mother, comprehend
How little children feel and love the truth;
Only you cherish like an equal friend
The shy and tragic dignity of youth.
(the woman answers her lover.)
All my life long, I think I dreamed of this.
Even as a girl, my visions were of you.
Alas, I grew incredulous of bliss;
And now too late, too late, the dream comes true.
Sweet are the charms you offer me, my lover,
To read the riddle of the universe,
And in your arms I should not soon discover
Our old, old mortal curse.
And yet I put them by, because I trust
In other magic, far beyond the ken,
Even of you, the tenderest of men,
In spells more permanent than any sorrow,
Which bind me to the past, and make to-morrow
My own, although I sleep it through in dust,
The revelation which to every woman
Her children bring,
Making her one not only with things human, -
With every living thing,
For only mothers raise no passionate cry
Against mortality;
For only they have learned the reason why
It is worth while to live; and presently,
Seeing nature's meaning, are content to die.
poem by Alice Duer Miller
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Open Your Heart
Tis' one life you have,
Open your heart to love.
Love your wife, your son,
Daughter, husband, or special one.
Friends never turn away-
Open your heart to love every day.
Your scars will be many;
Much pain there will be.
Knives will cut deep;
Your eyes will for years weep.
At times you will wonder,
Is it really worth it all?
To love, feel, and cry,
Or to raise walls and inside die?
The latter seems the safer,
But behind walls doth one falter.
For we were made to live,
To love, breathe, and give.
To hide behind the walls,
Slowly one falls.
Petrified till no longer a soul,
Just grey stone, dead and cold.
Never able to move beyond,
The wail of a heart break song.
Forever in the past,
Never in the future, this his cast.
Never the chance feel,
The warmth of love so real;
The closeness of a friend,
When you are facing the bitter end.
Just a life of reclusion,
Doomed to seclusion.
A life wasted, a life for nothing.
A life of pain and bluffing.
Woe to sad memory,
But happy ones will never flee.
To love and live,
Or to die all stiff.
The choice is all yours,
What will be your course?
Please please open your heart,
Though it may be oft torn apart.
For if you don't ever,
True life experience you will never.
Tis' one life you have:
Open your heart to love.
poem by Joses Tirtabudi
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Cold is The Heart
Cold is the heart of the man who lets no one into his life.
Cold is the heart of the woman who has lost her love.
Cold is the heart of the girl who is better than everyone around her.
Cold is the heart of the man who fights only for himself.
Cold is the heart of the Teenager who needs and wants no one in his life.
Cold is the heart of the cocky young man.
Cold is the heart of the Criminal who is not forgiven for what he has done.
Cold is the heart of the Widow who is left alone in this world.
Cold is the heart of the woman angry at love.
Cold is the heart of the angry young man.
Cold is the heart of the one who does not laugh, and will not smile.
Cold is the heart of the woman who feels no love, and feels no pain.
Cold is the heart of the Businessman who claws his way to the top.
Cold is the heart of the child who feels left out while the others play.
Cold is the heart of the man who denies his emotions freedom.
Coldness in the heart is an absence of love.
It is the feeling of Loneliness,
The presence of Anger,
The lack of Respect,
And the loss of emotion.
It is found in the joyless,
In the emotionless,
And in the inhospitable.
It is a trait of the passionless,
Of the unconcerned,
Of the unsympathetic,
And in those who deny the truth.
But through love any heart can be warmed.
poem by Trever Barlow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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To Love A Woman
(ian hunter)
To love a woman
Lost and lonely through the night
My baby doesnt hear me right
Cross my heart and hope to die
The words wont come although I try
Its there beneath me deep and strong
And when I speak it sounds so wrong
Oh cross my heart and hope to die
Ill never know the reason why
You and I were so in love
And if the sun wont shine
Ill be warm enough for the both of us
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
Sometimes when Im away from you
I love you more you know its true
Oh cross my heart and hope to die
This loneliness is good sometimes
And youll return smile over me
And I still cant say whats plain to see
But cross my heart and hope to die
Youll never know how hard I try
You and I we fell in love
And if the sun wont shine
Ill be warm enough for the both of us
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
Loving a woman like you aint hard to do
You know it happens all the time
To love a woman another woman
To love a woman aint never been hard
(cross my heart and hope to die)
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
So Ill go on through this night
Wishing the words to come out right
Cross my heart and hope to die
This stubborn tongues gonna make me cry
Just accept me as I am
Understand Im a quiet man
Cross my heart and hope to die
I dread the day you say goodbye
You and I we fell in love
And if the sun wont shine
Ill be warm enough for the both of us
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
To love a woman
(fade)
song performed by by Ian Hunter
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In a Year
I
Never any more,
While I live,
Need I hope to see his face
As before.
Once his love grown chill,
Mine may strive:
Bitterly we re-embrace,
Single still.
II
Was it something said,
Something done,
Vexed him? was it touch of hand,
Turn of head?
Strange! that very way
Love begun:
I as little understand
Love's decay.
III
When I sewed or drew,
I recall
How he looked as if I sung,
—Sweetly too.
If I spoke a word,
First of all
Up his cheek the colour sprang,
Then he heard.
IV
Sitting by my side,
At my feet,
So he breathed but air I breathed,
Satisfied!
I, too, at love's brim
Touched the sweet:
I would die if death bequeathed
Sweet to him.
V
"Speak, I love thee best!"
He exclaimed:
"Let thy love my own foretell!"
I confessed:
"Clasp my heart on thine
"Now unblamed,
"Since upon thy soul as well
"Hangeth mine!"
VI
Was it wrong to own,
Being truth?
Why should all the giving prove
His alone?
I had wealth and ease,
Beauty, youth:
Since my lover gave me love,
I gave these.
VII
That was all I meant,
—To be just,
And the passion I had raised,
To content.
Since he chose to change
Gold for dust,
If I gave him what he praised
Was it strange?
VIII
Would he loved me yet,
On and on,
While I found some way undreamed
—Paid my debt!
Gave more life and more,
Till, all gone,
He should smile "She never seemed
"Mine before.
IX
"What, she felt the while,
"Must I think?
"Love's so different with us men!"
He should smile:
"Dying for my sake—
"White and pink!
"Can't we touch these bubbles then
"But they break?"
X
Dear, the pang is brief,
Do thy part,
Have thy pleasure! How perplexed
Grows belief!
Well, this cold clay clod
Was man's heart:
Crumble it, and what comes next?
Is it God?
poem by Robert Browning from Men and Women (1855)
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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A Woman Crossed In Love
Cant stand this silence any more Im dying
The words no sooner leave my lips
Im out of your life in the beat of a heart
It was selfish it was cruel undeniably uncool
Have your way with me
Slap me twice across the face once for a stolen embrace
Once more for honesty
They say the truth will set you free
Its true for some but not for me
No sorry on earth is sorry enough
To win back the heart of a woman crossed in love
Call me shameless I dont care I love you
Desperate measures for desperate times
So much for the sway of a kiss
Darling here I am your ever-loving man
In his darkest hour
Had I known it meant goodbye I would have sooner lived a lie
Than live without you girl
They say the truth will set you free
Its true for some but not for me
No sorry on earth is sorry enough
To win back the heart of a woman crossed in love
So its over like that pack you bags your coat and hat
End of story
Before I fade away hear me when I say
Baby Im sorry
They say the truth will set you free
Its true for some but not for me
No sorry on earth is sorry enough
To win back the heart of a woman crossed in love
No sorry on earth is sorry enough
To win back the heart of a woman crossed in love
song performed by by Gino Vanelli
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Where Are You?
If you want to live on a sweet love then,
Be my lover on this train;
Who will be my lover?
Who will be my woman?
Who will be my wife?
Who will give me children?
Oh, to you Ladies out there! !
Come and take me home;
My sweet woman to be,
I am missing you.
Come and show me the true colours of love,
Come and be my wife and let's have children.
Who am i to be blind; pretending not to see them?
Come and let's stay together on this love;
Yes, come and let's make babies.
Who will be my family?
Who will be my girl?
Who will be my woman?
Who will be my wife?
Who will i give my heart to?
Who will i share my soul with?
I need a woman to give me children.
Have you heard of Shakespeare?
Have you heard of St. Louis?
Then, hold back your tears to the one you love.
Who is after my love?
Who will be my lover?
I want someone special like you.
Hold back the tears of love to my heart,
Where are you girls?
Where are you ladies?
Where is the lover of my heart?
I'm still searching for the real love.
Lonely as i am, i can't let it go when i do find her.
I need someone who will let my heart beat,
I need someone to lean on;
So, lean on me if you are the one for me.
Where are you my sweet woman?
Tell me if you are my sweet lady;
I need someone who will feel my heart-beat.
poem by Edward Kofi Louis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Death-Lament Of The Noble Wife Of Asan Aga
WHAT is yonder white thing in the forest?
Is it snow, or can it swans perchance be?
Were it snow, ere this it had been melted,
Were it swans, they all away had hastend.
Snow, in truth, it is not, swans it is not,
'Tis the shining tents of Asan Aga.
He within is lying, sorely wounded;
To him come his mother and his sister;
Bashfully his wife delays to come there.
When the torment of his wounds had lessen'd,
To his faithful wife he sent this message:
"At my court no longer dare to tarry,
At my court, or e'en amongst my people."
When the woman heard this cruel message,
Mute and full of sorrow stood that true one.
At the doors she hears the feet of horses,
And bethinks that Asan comes--her husband,
To the tower she springs, to leap thence headlong,
Her two darling daughters follow sadly,
And whilst weeping bitter tears, exclaim they:
These are not our father Asan's horses;
'Tis thy brother Pintorowich coming!"
So the wife of Asan turns to meet him,
Clasps her arms in anguish round her brother:
"See thy sister's sad disgrace, oh brother!
How I'm banish'd--mother of five children!"
Silently her brother from his wallet,
Wrapp'd in deep red-silk, and ready written,
Draweth forth the letter of divorcement,
To return home to her mother's dwelling,
Free to be another's wife thenceforward.
When the woman saw that mournful letter,
Fervently she kiss'd her two sons' foreheads,
And her two girls' cheeks with fervour kiss'd she,
But she from the suckling in the cradle
Could not tear herself, so deep her sorrow!
So she's torn thence by her fiery brother,
On his nimble steed he lifts her quickly,
And so hastens, with the heart-sad woman,
Straightway tow'rd his father's lofty dwelling.
Short the time was--seven days had pass'd not,--
Yet enough 'twas; many mighty princes
Sought the woman in her widow's-mourning.
Sought the woman,--as their wife they sought her.
And the mightiest was Imoski's Cadi,
And the woman weeping begg'd her brother:
By thy life, my brother, I entreat thee,
Let me not another's wife be ever,
Lest my heart be broken at the image
Of my poor, my dearly-cherish'd children!"
To her prayer her brother would not hearken,
Fix'd to wed her to Imoski's Cadi.
Yet the good one ceaselessly implored him:
"Send, at least a letter, oh, my brother,
With this message to Imoski's Cadi:
'The young widow sends thee friendly greeting;
Earnestly she prays thee, through this letter,
That, when thou com'st hither, with thy Suatians,
A long veil thou'lt bring me, 'neath whose shadow
I may hide, when near the house of Asan,
And not see my dearly cherish'd orphans.'"
Scarcely had the Cadi read this letter,
Than he gather'd all his Suatians round him,
And then tow'rd the bride his course directed,
And the veil she ask'd for, took he with him.
Happily they reach'd the princess' dwelling,
From the dwelling happily they led her.
But when they approach'd the house of Asan,
Lo! the children saw from high their mother,
And they shouted: "To thy halls return thou!
Eat thy supper with thy darling children!"
Mournfully the wife of Asan heard it,
Tow'rd the Suatian prince then turn'd she, saying:
"Let, I pray, the Suatians and the horses
At the loved ones' door a short time tarry,
That I may give presents to my children."
And before the loved ones' door they tarried,
And she presents gave to her poor children,
To the boys gave gold-embroider'd buskins,
To the girls gave long and costly dresses,
To the suckling, helpless in the cradle,
Gave a garment, to be worn hereafter.
This aside saw Father Asan Aga,--
Sadly cried he to his darling children:
"Hither come, ye dear unhappy infants,
For your mother's breast is turn'd to iron,
Lock'd for ever, closed to all compassion!"
When the wife of Asan heard him speak thus,
On the ground, all pale and trembling, fell she,
And her spirit fled her sorrowing bosom,
When she saw her children flying from her.
poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Two Loves
The woman he loved, while he dreamed of her,
Danced on till the stars grew dim,
But alone with her heart, from the world apart
Sat the woman who loved him.
The woman he worshipped only smiled
When he poured out his passionate love.
But the other somewhere, kissed her treasure most rare,
A book he had touched with his glove.
The woman he loved betrayed his trust,
And he wore the scars for life;
And he cared not, nor knew, that the other was true;
But no man called her his wife.
The woman he loved trod festal halls,
While they sang his funeral hymn,
But the sad bells tolled, ere the year was old,
For the woman that loved him.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Individuality
Ah yes, I love you, and with all my heart;
Just as a weaker woman loves her own,
Better than I love my beloved art,
Which, until you came, reigned royally, alone,
My king, my master. Since I saw your face
I have dethroned it, and you hold that place.
I am as weak as other women are –
Your frown can make the whole world like a tomb
Your smile shines brighter than the sun, by far;
Sometimes I think there is not space or room
In all the earth for such a love as mine,
And it soars up to breathe in realms divine.
I know that your desertion or neglect
Could break my heart, as women’s hearts do break;
If my wan days had nothing to expect
From your love’s splendour, all joy would forsake
The chambers of my soul. Yes this is true.
And yet, and yet – one thing I keep from you.
There is a subtle part of me, which went
Into my long pursued and worshipped art;
Though your great love fills me with such content,
No other love finds room now in my heart.
Yet that rare essence was my art’s alone.
Thank God, you cannot grasp it; ‘tis mine own.
Thank God, I say, for while I love you so,
With that vast love, as passionate as tender,
I feel an exultation as I know
I have not made you a complete surrender.
Here is my body; bruise it, if you will,
And break my heart; I have that something still.
You cannot grasp it. Seize the breath of morn,
Or bind the perfume of the rose as well.
God put it in my soul when I was born;
It is not mine to give away, or sell,
Or offer up on any alter shrine.
It was my art’s; and when not art’s, ‘tis mine.
For Love’s sake, I can put the art away,
Or anything which stands ‘twixt me and you,
But that strange essence God bestowed, I say,
To permeate the work He gave to do:
And it cannot be drained, dissolved, or sent
Through any channel, save the one He meant.
poem by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Woman's Farewell
SO with this farewell kiss I taste at last
The all of life; the Future and the Past
Upon your dear lips dwell.
Love will not come again, though I implore;
And in my heart a twilight evermore—
Farewell!
A man's heart is so wide that I was wrong
To dream that I could fill it with the song
A woman loves so well;
A woman's heart is narrow, but I filled
Mine brimming with your kisses—none was spilled—
Farewell!
So fierce your love was, I was half-afraid.
The roses blossom and the roses fade;
The withered petals tell!
So high into your heart you lifted me,
So far I have to fall, since it must be
Farewell!
Now all the world I fashioned round me falls;
And from the past one memory calls and calls,
Grieving, and like a knell;
Now all the days like drear regrets shall seem,
And all the nights—the nights! ..I dare not dream!
Farewell!
But what if I can hold you, hold you yet
Till all else but my lips you must forget:
If love could but compel!
But all the mystic hopes our hearts have heard
Must droop and wither to this wistful word—
Farewell!
My love was like a little child to me;
Now in my heart 't is crying piteously—
Hush, dear! all will be well!
My lips on yours for ever! Say again
You love me—though it be not true—and then—
Farewell!
poem by Arthur Henry Adams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Don’t Trust a WOMAN! ! !
Don’t trust a woman. They lie, manipulate, and deceive.
Don’t trust a woman. They say things to get you to believe,
That what they say is real and true, but listen to me as I tell you.
Don’t trust a woman. Lies are only what they can achieve.
Don’t give your heart away to a woman. They’ll crush, and stomp on it till it bleeds.
Don’t give your heart away to a woman. They’ll use you just to fulfill there needs.
They will turn to you for only a reason, but tear you apart in every years’ season…
Don’t give your heart away to a woman. Upon it is what a woman does feeds.
Don’t care for a woman. They never will care for you back.
Don’t care for a woman. Everything I’ve said is the plain fact.
She will show you the angel inside, but it’s the devil in her that she hides.
Don’t care for a woman. If you do, you won’t get your heart back.
Don’t fall head over heals in love for a woman. You will only lose in the end.
Don’t fall head over heals in love for a woman. Let them only be ur friend.
If you do, you will fall one day really hard, and your heart will be left chard.
Don’t fall head over heals in love for a woman. Just use them for what god did intend.
This might sound harsh, but it is reality…..
Word of advice to all men and boys…..
poem by J.J B. Torment
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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At play
Play that you are mother dear,
And play that papa is your beau;
Play that we sit in the corner here,
Just as we used to, long ago.
Playing so, we lovers two
Are just as happy as we can be,
And I'll say "I love you" to you,
And you say "I love you" to me!
"I love you" we both shall say,
All in earnest and all in play.
Or, play that you are that other one
That some time came, and went away;
And play that the light of years agone
Stole into my heart again to-day!
Playing that you are the one I knew
In the days that never again may be,
I'll say "I love you" to you,
And you say "I love you" to me!
I love you!" my heart shall say
To the ghost of the past come back to-day!
Or, play that you sought this nestling-place
For your own sweet self, with that dual guise
Of your pretty mother in your face
And the look of that other in your eyes!
So the dear old loves shall live anew
As I hold my darling on my knee,
And I'll say "I love you" to you,
And you say "I love you" to me!
Oh, many a strange, true thing we say
And do when we pretend to play!
poem by Eugene Field
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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When A Man Loves A Woman
When a man loves a woman,
He'll cherish his happiness with her,
Fulfiling her life with joy,
Showing his love day by day.
When a man loves a woman,
In the silence of world time stood still,
He and she together beneath the sky,
And their love growing with each throbbing kiss.
When a man loves a woman,
His eyes will wrapp her in his magic,
She 'll be atracted by his charm,
They'll seal this love with passion.
When a man loves a woman,
His heart belongs to her,
As like the precious gift she'll ever had,
And only her holds the key to open his heart.
When a man loves a woman,
He'll always nurture and protect her,
She'll be his reason to live for,
And got through fire to save her.
When a man loves a woman,
He'll have eyes only for her,
She'll be the meaning of his life,
The center of his universe.
poem by Cristina Teodor
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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