Muse and Mint

Chapter 30: I GIVE THEE MY PROMISE

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About This Book

A varied collection of short lyrical poems that observes nature and rural life, using seasonal imagery—sap, snow, rivers, cherries—and simple domestic scenes to reflect on change, beauty, and small joys. Sections shift between fireside recollections, sentimental and philosophical meditations, homiletic and religious pieces, and light humor, blending devotional songlike verses with moral aphorisms and affectionate memory. The voice moves between wistful and buoyant moods, finding consolation and ethical insight in commonplace experiences, while concise stanzas and vivid images emphasize mood and moral reflection rather than a continuous narrative.

I GIVE THEE MY PROMISE

I give thee my promise, sweetheart,

With thy dear lips to mine,

That nothing shall keep from us

The sealing of this sign;

As o’er the world I wander

By hope of fortune sped,

My heart will grow the fonder

For thy promise me to wed.

I give thee the token, sweetheart,

Whose circle on thy hand

God grant may ne’er be broken,

However far the land!

For where it pleaseth Heaven

To lead my errant feet,

This little token given

Will keep the promise sweet.

I give thee the keeping, sweetheart,

Of my own heart that pleads

For love’s immediate reaping

And with the parting bleeds;

But I with arms that hold thee

Must labor for thee, too;

And so I fast enfold thee

And bid thee, love, adieu!