Love is Enough: Songs I-IX

William Morris 1834 (Walthamstow) – 1896 (London)



I1.
     Love is enough: though the World be a-waning
.
        And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining,
.
        Though the sky be too dark for dim eyes to discover
.
    The gold-cups and daisies fair blooming thereunder,
.
    Though the hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder,
.
        And this day draw a veil over all deeds passed over,
.
    Yet their hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter;
.
    The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter
.
        These lips and these eyes of the loved and the lover.II2.
   Love is enough: have no thought for to-morrow
.
       If ye lie down this even in rest from your pain,
.
   Ye who have paid for your bliss with great sorrow:
.
       For as it was once so it shall be again.
.
       Ye shall cry out for death as ye stretch forth in vain2.
   Feeble hands to the hands that would help but they may not,
.
       Cry out to deaf ears that would hear if they could;
.
   Till again shall the change come, and words your lips say not
.
       Your hearts make all plain in the best wise they would
.

       And the world ye thought waning is glorious and good:2.

   And no morning now mocks you and no nightfall is weary,
.

       The plains are not empty of song and of deed:
.

   The sea strayeth not, nor the mountains are dreary;
.

       The wind is not helpless for any man's need,
.

       Nor falleth the rain but for thistle and weed.2.

   O surely this morning all sorrow is hidden,
.

       All battle is hushed for this even at least;
.

   And no one this noontide may hunger, unbidden
.

       To the flowers and the singing and the joy of your feast
.

       Where silent ye sit midst the world's tale increased.2.

   Lo, the lovers unloved that draw nigh for your blessing!
.

       For your tale makes the dreaming whereby yet they live
.

   The dreams of the day with their hopes of redressing,
.

       The dreams of the night with the kisses they give,
.

       The dreams of the dawn wherein death and hope strive.2.

   Ah, what shall we say then, but that earth threatened often
.

       Shall live on for ever that such things may be,
.

   That the dry seed shall quicken, the hard earth shall soften,
.

       And the spring-bearing birds flutter north o'er the sea,
.

       That earth's garden may bloom round my love's feet and me?III3.
   Love is enough: it grew up without heeding
.
       In the days when ye knew not its name nor its measure,
.
       And its leaflets untrodden by the light feet of pleasure
.
   Had no boast of the blossom, no sign of the seeding,
.
       As the morning and evening passed over its treasure.3.
   And what do ye say then?--That Spring long departed
.
       Has brought forth no child to the softness and showers;
.
       --That we slept and we dreamed through the Summer of flowers;
.
   We dreamed of the Winter, and waking dead-hearted
.

       Found Winter upon us and waste of dull hours.3.

   Nay, Spring was o'er-happy and knew not the reason,
.

       And Summer dreamed sadly, for she thought all was ended
.

       In her fulness of wealth that might not be amended;
.

   But this is the harvest and the garnering season,
.

       And the leaf and the blossom in the ripe fruit are blended.3.

   It sprang without sowing, it grew without heeding,
.

       Ye knew not its name and ye knew not its measure,
.

       Ye noted it not mid your hope and your pleasure;
.

   There was pain in its blossom, despair in its seeding,
.

       But daylong your bosom now nurseth its treasure.IV4.
    Love is enough: draw near and behold me
.
       Ye who pass by the way to your rest and your laughter,
.
       And are full of the hope of the dawn coming after;
.
   For the strong of the world have bought me and sold me
.
       And my house is all wasted from threshold to rafter.
.
          --Pass by me, and hearken, and think of me not!4.
   Cry out and come near; for my ears may not hearken,
.
       And my eyes are grown dim as the eyes of the dying.
.
       Is this the grey rack o'er the sun's face a-flying?
.

   Or is it your faces his brightness that darken?
.

   Comes a
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

3:35 min read
110

Quick analysis:

Scheme XA A B B B B B B BC D C X DE F E F F G H G H H I J D J J A K A X K I G I G XA B B A BL M M L M I L L I L A B B A KG B B G B ED A A I
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 4,034
Words 709
Stanzas 34
Stanza Lengths 35, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 18, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 18, 2

William Morris

William Morris, Mayor of Galway, 1527-28. more…

All William Morris poems | William Morris Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem Love is Enough: Songs I-IX with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Love is Enough: Songs I-IX" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/41112/love-is-enough:-songs-i-ix>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    19
    hours
    24
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which author is considered to be Scotland’s national poet?
    A Danny Boyle
    B Edwin Morgan
    C Robert Louis Stevenson
    D Robert Burns