I span and Eve span <br />A thread to bind the heart of man; <br />But the heart of man was a wandering thing <br />That came and went with little to bring: <br />Nothing he minded what we made, <br />As here he loitered, and there he stayed. <br />I span and Eve span <br />A thread to bind the heart of man; <br />But the more we span the more we found <br />It wasn't his heart but ours we bound. <br />For children gathered about our knees: <br />The thread was a chain that stole our ease. <br />And one of us learned in our children's eyes <br />That more than man was love and prize. <br />But deep in the heart of one of us lay <br />A root of loss and hidden dismay. <br /> <br />He said he was strong. He had no strength <br />But that which comes of breadth and length. <br />He said he was fond. But his fondness proved <br />The flame of an hour when he was moved. <br />He said he was true. His truth was but <br />A door that winds could open and shut. <br /> <br />And yet, and yet, as he came back, <br />Wandering in from the outward track, <br />We held our arms, and gave him our breast, <br />As a pillowing place for his head to rest. <br />I span and Eve span, <br />A thread to bind the heart of man!<br /><br />Dame Mary Gilmore<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/eve-song/
