Page:The poems of Richard Watson Gilder, Gilder, 1908.djvu/65

Rh Love is the flower of maidenhood;

Love is the fruit of mortal pain;

And she hath winter in her blood.

True love is stedfast as the skies,

And once alight she never flies;

And love is strong, and love is wise.

XVI—"LOVE IS NOT BOND TO ANY MAN"

XVII—"HE KNOWS NOT THE PATH OF DUTY"

knows not the path of duty

Who says that the way is sweet;

But he who is blind to the beauty,

And finds but thorns for his feet.

He alone is the perfect giver

Who swears that his gift is naught;

And he is the sure receiver

Who gains what he never sought.