XIII
Reading edition
I KNOW not how to cast aside the power That holds thy presence ever in my thought. By night or day, thy coming once hath brought Incessant longing for thee every hour. Why can I not, in truth, then, overpower This sense of something that is vainly sought, And still content me with a friendship caught From the occasional perfume of a flower? Oh, lover! ask that question of thyself, And answer it, in face of nature’s calling: If in all reason thou couldst satisfy Such craving in thy soul. For I myself Hold difficult the effort of forestalling That which I most reluctantly defy.