24. Song

“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,

And 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

You 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.