Dora Sigerson Shorter (Дора Сигерсон Шортер)
What Will You Give?
What will you give me, if I will wed? “A golden gown To come sweetly down, And deck you from foot to head.” How will you keep me, if I am cold? “By a heart so warm, The bravest storm Dare not force through my strong hands’ hold.” How will you please me, if I should thirst? “Why by the rape Of the purple grape, Which the summer and sun have nursed.” If I should hunger what may I eat? “For you the skies The falcon flies, And the hounds on the stag are fleet.” How can you comfort when fair youth dies, When the spirit’s fain For a purer gain, Than the satisfied flesh supplies? “But this I promise, when starved and cold A lonely soul Finds for its goal A six-foot bed and churchyard mould.”
Dora Sigerson Shorter’s other poems:
