ALL THAT LOVE ASKS“All that I ask,” says Love, “is just to standAnd gaze, unchided, deep in thy dear eyes;For in their depths lies largest Paradise.Yet, if perchance one pressure of thy handBe granted me, then joy I thought completeWere still more sweet.“All that I ask,” says Love, “all that I ask,Is just thy hand-clasp. Could I brush thy cheekAs zephyrs brush a rose leaf, words are weakTo tell the bliss in which my soul would bask.There is no language but would desecrateA joy so great.“All that I ask, is just one tender touchOf that soft cheek. Thy pulsing palm in mine,Thy dark eyes lifted in a trust divine,And those curled lips that tempt me overmuchTurned where I may not seize the supreme blissOf one mad kiss.“All that I ask,” says Love, “of life, of death,Or of high heaven itself, is just to stand,Glance melting into glance, hand twined in hand,The while I drink the nectar of thy breathIn one sweet kiss, but one, of all thy store,I ask no more.”“All that I ask”—nay, self-deceiving Love,Reverse thy phrase, so thus the words may fall,In place of “all I ask,” say, “I ask all,”All that pertains to earth or soars above,All that thou wert, art, will be, body, soul,Love asks the whole,
“All that I ask,” says Love, “is just to standAnd gaze, unchided, deep in thy dear eyes;For in their depths lies largest Paradise.Yet, if perchance one pressure of thy handBe granted me, then joy I thought completeWere still more sweet.
“All that I ask,” says Love, “all that I ask,Is just thy hand-clasp. Could I brush thy cheekAs zephyrs brush a rose leaf, words are weakTo tell the bliss in which my soul would bask.There is no language but would desecrateA joy so great.
“All that I ask, is just one tender touchOf that soft cheek. Thy pulsing palm in mine,Thy dark eyes lifted in a trust divine,And those curled lips that tempt me overmuchTurned where I may not seize the supreme blissOf one mad kiss.
“All that I ask,” says Love, “of life, of death,Or of high heaven itself, is just to stand,Glance melting into glance, hand twined in hand,The while I drink the nectar of thy breathIn one sweet kiss, but one, of all thy store,I ask no more.”
“All that I ask”—nay, self-deceiving Love,Reverse thy phrase, so thus the words may fall,In place of “all I ask,” say, “I ask all,”All that pertains to earth or soars above,All that thou wert, art, will be, body, soul,Love asks the whole,