Elizabeth Barrett Browning Sonnet Poems

XXI

Say over again, and yet once over again,
That thou dost love me. Though the word repeated
...

XXII

When our two souls stand up erect and strong,
Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher,
...

XXXVI

When we met first and loved, I did not build
Upon the event with marble. Could it mean
...

XVIII

I never gave a lock of hair away
To a man, Dearest, except this to thee,
...

VII

The face of all the world is changed, I think,
Since first I heard the footsteps of thy soul
...

III

Unlike are we, unlike, O princely Heart!
Unlike our uses and our destinies.
...

XII

Indeed this very love which is my boast,
And which, when rising up from breast to brow,
...

XXVII

My own Beloved, who hast lifted me
From this drear flat of earth where I was thrown,
...

II

But only three in all God's universe
Have heard this word thou hast said,—Himself, beside
...

XIII

And wilt thou have me fashion into speech
The love I bear thee, finding words enough,
...

XL

Oh, yes! they love through all this world of ours!
I will not gainsay love, called love forsooth.
...

XV

Accuse me not, beseech thee, that I wear
Too calm and sad a face in front of thine;
...

XLIV

Beloved, thou hast brought me many flowers
Plucked in the garden, all the summer through
...

XI

And therefore if to love can be desert,
I am not all unworthy. Cheeks as pale
...

And therefore if to love can be desert,
I am not all unworthy. Cheeks as pale
As these you see, and trembling knees that fail
To bear the burden of a heavy heart,--
...

XLI

I thank all who have loved me in their hearts,
With thanks and love from mine. Deep thanks to all
...

XXXV

If I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchange
And be all to me? Shall I never miss
...

First time he kissed me, he but only kissed
The finger of this hand wherewith I write;
And ever since, it grew more clean and white,
Slow to world-greetings, quick with its "Oh, list,"
...

V

I lift my heavy heart up solemnly,
As once Electra her sepulchral urn,
...

XXIV

Let the world's sharpness, like a clasping knife,
Shut in upon itself and do no harm
...

XVII

My poet, thou canst touch on all the notes
God set between his After and Before,
...

If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
'I love her for her smile--her look--her way
Of speaking gently,--for a trick of thought
...

IX

Can it be right to give what I can give?
To let thee sit beneath the fall of tears
...

XXXII

The first time that the sun rose on thine oath
To love me, I looked forward to the moon
...

XXIII

Is it indeed so? If I lay here dead,
Wouldst thou miss any life in losing mine?
...

XXXIV

With the same heart, I said, I'll answer thee
As those, when thou shalt call me by my name—
...

IV

Thou hast thy calling to some palace-floor,
Most gracious singer of high poems! where
...

XXXIX

Because thou hast the power and own'st the grace
To look through and behind this mask of me
...

XXV

A heavy heart, Beloved, have I borne
From year to year until I saw thy face,
...

Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand
Henceforth in thy shadow. Nevermore
Alone upon the threshold of my door
Of individual life, I shall command
...

How do I love thee ? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
...

XXX

I see thine image through my tears to-night,
And yet to-day I saw thee smiling. How
...

When our two souls stand up erect and strong,
Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher,
Until the lengthening wings break into fire
At either curvèd point,--what bitter wrong
...

I thank all who have loved me in their hearts,
With thanks and love from mine. Deep thanks to all
Who paused a little near the prison-wall
To hear my music in its louder parts
...

VIII

What can I give thee back, O liberal
And princely giver, who hast brought the gold
...

Indeed this very love which is my boast,
And which, when rising up from breast to brow,
Doth crown me with ruby large enow
To draw men's eyes and prove the inner cost,--
...

I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
...

Unlike are we, unlike, O princely Heart!
Unlike our uses and our destinies.
Our ministering two angels look surprise
On one another, as they strike athwart
...

The first time that the sun rose on thine oath
To love me, I looked forward to the moon
To slacken all those bonds which seemed too soon
And quickly tied to make a lasting troth.
...