Eleanor Farjeon

Sonnets. 9. Love Needs not Two the Render It Complete

Love needs not two the render it complete,
O certainly love needs not even one!
Sweet singing wants no listener to be sweet,
And unseen light’s still proper to the sun.
When sunlight falls upon unpeopled valleys
No presence can increase or dim its fall,
When nightingales sing in deserted alleys
No ear can make the night more musical.

If solitary into the light and song
I come, I know I have my treasure whole,
Yea, and still have it whole, although a throng
Runs after me down paths whereby I stole,
Yea, and still have it whole, though only one
Should follow me--or none, beloved, or none.