Sonnet XXX: Last Fire
July 5, 2023Sonnet XLII: Hope Overtaken
July 5, 2023Sonnet XXIII: Love’s Baubles
I stood where Love in brimming armfuls bore
Slight wanton flowers and foolish toys of fruit:
And round him ladies thronged in warm pursuit,
Fingered and lipped and proffered the strange store.
And from one hand the petal and the core
Savoured of sleep; and cluster and curled shoot
Seemed from another hand like shame’s salute,—
Gifts that I felt my cheek was blushing for.
At last Love bade my Lady give the same:
And as I looked, the dew was light thereon;
And as I took them, at her touch they shone
With inmost heaven-hue of the heart of flame.
And then Love said: “Lo! when the hand is hers,
Follies of love are love’s true ministers.”
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882) was an English poet, painter, and founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. His works, such as "The Blessed Damozel" and "Sister Helen," explored themes of love, death, and the supernatural. Rossetti was also a talented artist and designed many of the Pre-Raphaelite movement's most famous works.