Poem by Alan Seeger

Sonnet 8. Oh, love of woman, you are known to be

Oh, love of woman, you are known to be
A passion sent to plague the hearts of men;
For every one you bring felicity
Bringing rebuffs and wretchedness to ten.
I have been oft where human life sold cheap
And seen men's brains spilled out about their ears
And yet that never cost me any sleep;
I lived untroubled and I shed no tears.
Fools prate how war is an atrocious thing;
I always knew that nothing it implied
Equalled the agony of suffering
Of him who loves and loves unsatisfied.
War is a refuge to a heart like this;
Love only tells it what true torture is. 

1. Thirty Sonnets. 5. Sonnet 5. A tide of beauty with returning May
2. The Sultan's Palace
3. Sonnet 7. There have been times when I could storm and plead
4. Thirty Sonnets. 13. Sonnet 13. I fancied, while you stood conversing there
5. Sonnet 1. Sidney, in whom the heyday of romance

Print

1142 Views

Last Poems

To Russian version