618. Sonnets from the Portuguese XLI

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806—1861)

  I THANK all who have loved me in their hearts,

  With thanks and love from mine. Deep thanks to all

  Who paused a little near the prison-wall

  To hear my music in its louder parts

  Ere they went onward, each one to the mart’s

  Or temple’s occupation, beyond call.

  But thou, who, in my voice’s sink and fall

  When the sob took it, thy divinest Art’s

  Own instrument didst drop down at thy foot

  To hearken what I said between my tears,…

  Instruct me how to thank thee! Oh, to shoot

  My soul’s full meaning into future years,

  That they should lend it utterance, and salute

  Love that endures, from Life that disappears!