Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TO ELIZABETH, by                    
First Line: You never have said that you loved
Last Line: And I am your long-famished lover.
Subject(s): Hearts; Love


YOU never have said that you loved,
In bold, plain words, for my hearing,
You go out neatly garbed, trimly gloved,
To your mount without word of endearing;
And you canter good mile upon mile
By my side, seeming safe from detection,
But I know by your eyes and your smile
That I own all your prisoned affection.

You never have said you were mine,
But the day that my horse, madly leaping,
Threw me off into stubble and vine
I arose, dear, to find you were weeping.
And the night that I told you of her —
She to whom not a word I had spoken —
Your eyes wore a mist and a blur,
And you talked in a voice that was broken.

You have always been silent and shy,
So modest, yet gracious and tender,
That you cannot believe time is nigh
For a bold and outspoken surrender.
Yet that is just what you will give
Just as soon as your soul shall discover
'T is for love and love only you live,
And I am your long-famished lover.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net