Poem by Robert Seymour Bridges

Shorter Poems. Book II. 13. “I Have Loved Flowers That Fade”

I have loved flowers that fade,
Within whose magic tents
Rich hues have marriage made
With sweet unmemoried scents:
A honeymoon delight,—
A joy of love at sight,
That ages in an hour:—
My song be like a flower!

I have loved airs, that die
Before their charm is writ
Along a liquid sky
Trembling to welcome it.
Notes, that with pulse of fire
Proclaim the spirit’s desire,
Then die, and are nowhere:—
My song be like an air!

Die, song, die like a breath,
And wither as a bloom:
Fear not a flowery death,
Dread not an airy tomb!
Fly with delight, fly hence!
’Twas thine love’s tender sense
To feast; now on thy bier
Beauty shall shed a tear.

1. Shorter Poems. Book II. 8. Spring. Ode I
2. Shorter Poems. Book III. 9. “A winter’s night with the snow about”
3. Shorter Poems. Book IV. 30. Laus Deo
4. Shorter Poems. Book V. 15. “The north wind came up yesternight”
5. Shorter Poems. Book II. 12. Morning Hymn

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