I LIKE YOU AND I LOVE YOU

By Oliver Wendell Holmes

I LIKE YOU Met I LOVE You, face to face;

The path was narrow, and they could not pass.

I LIKE YOU smiled; I LOVE YOU cried, Alas!

And so they halted for a little space.

“Turn thou and go before,” I LOVE YOU said,

“Down the green pathway, bright with many a flower;

Deep in the valley, lo! my bridal bower

Awaits thee.” But I LIKE YOU shook his head.

Then while they lingered on the span-wide shelf

That shaped a pathway round the rocky ledge,

I LIKE You bared his icy dagger's edge,

And first he slew I LOVE You,— then himself.