139. I WILL NOT LET THEE GO

I will not let thee go. Ends all our month-long love in this? Can it be summed up so, Quit in a single kiss? I will not let thee go.

{162}

I will not let thee go. If thy words' breath could scare thy deeds, As the soft south can blow And toss the feathered seeds, Then might I let thee go.

I will not let thee go. Had not the great sun seen, I might: Or were he reckoned slow To bring the false to light, Then might I let thee go.

I will not let thee go. The stars that crowd the summer skies Have watched us so below With all their million eyes, I dare not let thee go.

I will not let thee go. Have we not chid the changeful moon, Now rising late, and now Because she set too soon, And shall I let thee go?

I will not let thee go. Have not the young flowers been content, Plucked ere their buds could blow, To seal our sacrament? I cannot let thee go.

{163}

I will not let thee go. I hold thee by too many bands: Thou sayest farewell, and lo! I have thee by the hands, And will not let thee go.

Robert Bridges.