ArchivedLove
Poems

Too late for love, too late for joy,
...Too late, too late!
You loiter'd on the road too long,
...You trifled at the gate:
The enchanted dove upon her branch
...Died without a mate;
The enchanted princess in her tower
...Slept, died, behind the grate;
Her heart was starving all this while
...You made it wait.

Ten years ago, five years ago,
...One year ago,
Even then you had arrived in time,
...Though somewhat slow;
Then you had known her living face
...Which now you cannot know:
The frozen fountain would have leap'd
...The buds gone on to blow,
The warm south wind would have awaked
...To melt the snow.

.....from Bride Song by Christina Rossetti (1830-94)