Richard Watson Gilder

The New Day. Part 2. 7. Love's Cruelty

"And this, then, is thy love," I hear thee say,
⁠     "And dost thou love, and canst thou torture so?
⁠     Ah, spare me, if thou lov'st me, this last woe!"
⁠     But I am not my own; I must obey
My master; I am slave to Love; his sway
⁠     Is cruel as the grave. When he says Go!
     ⁠I go; when he says Come! I come. I know
     ⁠No law but his. When he says Slay! I slay.
As cruel as the grave? Yes—crueler:
⁠     Cruel as light that pours its stinging flood
     ⁠Across the dark, and makes an anguished stir
Of life; cruel as life that sends through blood
     ⁠Of mortal the immortal pang and spur;
⁠     Cruel as thy remorseless maidenhood.