Poems (Sharpless)/"What Shall I Swear By?"

4648447Poems — "What Shall I Swear By?"Frances M. Sharpless
Rom. What shall I swear by?
Jul. Do not swear at all.
Romeo and Juliet (Act 2; Scene 2).

Oh, ask no vows by sky or stars above thee!
The sky hath clouds, the stars will fade away;
It is enough for me to say, I love thee;
Then, ask no vows from lip or heart to-day.

Thou knowst not love if vows are thy requiring,
Vows that are born of false and idle breath.
I am all thine,—to all of thy desiring,—
Ah, if thou lovest, have a little faith.

Nay, pledge me none, lift up thine eyes to greet me,
And in their gaze I'll read thy constancy;
They are too true in all their haste to greet me,
To bid me cherish any fear of thee.

He who would find his jewel all sustained,
Must cast no shadow from his spirit there;
Then all its pristine light will be retained,
The light it caught in Heaven's upper air.