As yon great Sun in his supreme condition <br />Absorbs small worlds and makes them all his own, <br />So does my love absorb each vain ambition <br />Each outside purpose which my life has known. <br />Stars cannot shine so near that vast orb's splendor, <br />They are content to feed his flames of fire; <br />And so my heart is satisfied to render <br />Its strength, its all, to meet thy strong desire. <br /> <br />As in a forest when dead leaves are falling, <br />From all save some perennial green tree, <br />So one by one I find all pleasures palling <br />That are not linked with or enjoyed by thee. <br />And all the homage that the world may proffer, <br />I take as perfumed oils or incense sweet, <br />And think of it as one thing more to offer <br />And sacrifice to Love, at thy dear feet. <br /> <br />I love myself because thou art my lover, <br />My name seems dear since uttered by thy voice; <br />Yet argus-eyed I watch and would discover <br />Each blemish in the object of thy choice. <br />I coldly sit in judgment on each error, <br />To my soul's gaze I hold each fault of me, <br />Until my pride is lost in abject terror, <br />Lest I become inadequate to thee. <br /> <br />Like some swift-rushing and sea-seeking river, <br />Which gathers force the farther on it goes, <br />So does the current of my love forever <br />Find added strength and beauty as it flows. <br />The more I give, the more remains for giving, <br />The more receive, the more remains to win. <br />Ah! only in eternities of living <br />Will life be long enough to love thee in.<br /><br />Ella Wheeler Wilcox<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/love-s-supremacy/
