Poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The House of Life. Sonnet 23. Love's Baubles

I stood where Love in brimming armfuls bore
Slight wanton flowers and foolish toys of fruit:
And round him ladies thronged in warm pursuit,
Fingered and lipped and proffered the strange store.
And from one hand the petal and the core
Savored of sleep; and cluster and curled shoot
Seemed from another hand like shame's salute,--
Gifts that I felt my cheek was blushing for.

At last Love bade my Lady give the same:
And as I looked, the dew was light thereon;
And as I took them, at her touch they shone
With inmost heaven-hue of the heart of flame.
And then Love said: "Lo! when the hand is hers,
Follies of love are love's true ministers."

1. The House of Life. Sonnet 48. Death-in-Love
2. Almost Over
3. The House of Life. Sonnet 15. The Birth-Bond
4. The House of Life. Sonnet 9. Passion and Worship
5. A Sea-Spell

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