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And tie their hearts with love-knots to your feet,
Grow insolent about you against men,
And put us down by putting up the lip,
As if a man,—there are such, let us own.
Who write not ill,—remains a man, poor wretch,
While you—! Write far worse than Aurora Leigh,
And there’ll be women who believe of you
(Besides my Kate) that if you walked on sand
You would not leave a foot-print.
⁠‘Are you put
To wonder by my marriage, like poor Leigh?
‘Kate Ward!’ he said. ‘Kate Ward!’ he said anew.
‘I thought . . .’ he said, and stopped,—‘I did not think . . .’
And then he dropped to silence.
⁠‘Ah, he’s changed
I had not seen him, you’re aware, for long,
But went of course. I have not touched on this
Through all this letter,—conscious of your heart,
And writing lightlier for the heavy fact,
As clocks are voluble with lead.
⁠‘How weak
To say I’m sorry. Dear Leigh, dearest Leigh!
In those old days of Shropshire,—pardon me,—
When he and you fought many a field of gold
On what you should do, or you should not do,
Make bread of verses, (it just came to that)
I thought you’d one day draw a silken peace
Through a gold ring. I thought so. Foolishly,
The event proved,—for you went more opposite
To each other, month by month, and year by year,