Poem by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning

The Best Thing in the World

What's the best thing in the world?
June-rose, by May-dew impearled;
Sweet south-wind, that means no rain;
Truth, not cruel to a friend;
Pleasure, not in haste to end;
Beauty, not self-decked and curled
Till its pride is over-plain;
Love, when, so, you're loved again.
What's the best thing in the world?
--Something out of it, I think. 

1. Sonnets from the Portuguese. 26. I lived with visions for my company
2. Sonnets from the Portuguese. 35. If I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchange
3. The Soul's Expression
4. Lord Walter's Wife
5. A Thought for a Lonely Death-Bed

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