Poetical Works of Robert Bridges, Volume 2

Chapter 64: 10

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About This Book

A compact collection of short lyrical poems that meditate on memory, seasonal change, love, and the natural world. Many pieces adopt an elegiac or contemplative tone, turning riverbanks, cliffs, gardens, and the sea into prompts for reflection on loss, longing, and the persistence of feeling. The verse mixes concise narrative moments, personified elements, and formal lyrical rhythms, producing musical and measured language. Poems are presented in grouped sections alongside newly gathered pieces and editorial notes, yielding a varied sequence of brief, reflective lyrics and conversational vignettes.

10

O Love, my muse, how was’t for me

Among the best to dare,

In thy high courts that bowed the knee

With sacrifice and prayer?

Their mighty offerings at thy shrine

Shamed me, who nothing bore:

Their suits were mockeries of mine,

I sued for so much more.

Full many I met that crowned with bay

In triumph home returned,

And many a master on the way

Proud of the prize I scorned.

I wished no garland on my head

Nor treasure in my hand;

My gift the longing that me led,

My prayer thy high command,

My love, my muse; and when I spake

Thou mad’st me thine that day,

And more than hundred hearts could take

Gav’st me to bear away.