Page:Poems, Household Edition, Emerson, 1904.djvu/153

Rh Still to the proprietor;

Silver to silver creep and wind,

And kind to kind.

Nor less the eternal poles

Of tendency distribute souls.

There need no vows to bind

Whom not each other seek, but find.

They give and take no pledge or oath,—

Nature is the bond of both:

No prayer persuades, no flattery fawns,—

Their noble meanings are their pawns.

Plain and cold is their address,

Power have they for tenderness;

And, so thoroughly is known

Each other's counsel by his own,

They can parley without meeting;

Need is none of forms of greeting;

They can well communicate

In their innermost estate;

When each the other shall avoid,

Shall each by each be most enjoyed.

Not with scarfs or perfumed gloves

Do these celebrate their loves:

Not by jewels, feasts and savors,

Not by ribbons or by favors,

But by the sun-spark on the sea,

And the cloud-shadow on the lea,