Song (1909) - Rupert Brooke

poem: Song (1909)

'Oh! Love,' they said, 'is King of Kings,
And Triumph is his crown.
Earth fades in flame before his wings,
And Sun and Moon bow down.' -
But that, I knew, would never do;
And Heaven is all too high.
So whenever I meet a Queen, I said,
I will not catch her eye.

'Oh! Love,' they said, and 'Love,' they said,
'The gift of Love is this;
A crown of thorns about thy head,
A nd vinegar to thy kiss!' -
But Tragedy is not for me;
And I'm content to be gay.
So whenever I spied a Tragic Lady,
I went another way.

And so I never feared to see
Y ou wander down the street,
Or come across the fields to me
On ordinary feet.
For what they'd never told me of,
And what I never knew;
It was that all the time, my love,
Love would be merely you.

poem by Rupert Brooke