I would not feign a single sigh <br />Nor weep a single tear for thee: <br />The soul within these orbs burns dry; <br />A desert spreads where love should be. <br />I would not be a worm to crawl <br />A writhing suppliant in thy way; <br />For love is life, is heaven, and all <br />The beams of an immortal day. <br /> <br />For sighs are idle things and vain, <br />And tears for idiots vainly fall. <br />I would not kiss thy face again <br />Nor round thy shining slippers crawl. <br />Love is the honey, not the bee, <br />Nor would I turn its sweets to gall <br />For all the beauty found in thee, <br />Thy lily neck, rose cheek, and all. <br /> <br />I would not feign a single tale <br />Thy kindness or thy love to seek; <br />Nor sigh for Jenny of the Vale, <br />Her ruby smile or rosy cheek. <br />I would not have a pain to own <br />For those dark curls and those bright eyes <br />A frowning lip, a heart of stone, <br />False love and folly I despise.<br /><br />John Clare<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/song-5-4/
