The Secret Splendour

O not that I may shed on earth The undiminishable rays

Of thoughts that take harmonious birth

 On Thy lips' dawn-pure loveliness,

I hold so unforgettably dear

Thy visionary face!

Deny, if thou wilt, my heaven-enchanted ear,

And I shall not regret

 To live ineloquent, honourless.

 But one grace, O Beloved, I beseech—

May never Thy stainless lips forget

 Upon my soul's dim lifted brow

 The sweetness to bestow

That is more precious than immortal speech.

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