LOVE'S REASON

For that thy face is fair I love thee not;

Nor yet because the light of thy brown eyes

Hath gleams of wonder and of glad surprise,

Like woodland streams that cross a sunlit spot:

Nor for thy beauty, born without a blot,

Most perfect when it shines through no disguise

Pure as the star of Eve in Paradise,—

For all these outward things I love thee not:

But for a something in thy form and face,

Thy looks and ways, of primal harmony;

A certain soothing charm, a vital grace

That breathes of the eternal womanly,

And makes me feel the warmth of Nature's breast,

When in her arms, and thine, I sink to rest.