Poems List

Explore poems from our collection

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Work And Contemplation

Work And Contemplation

The woman singeth at her spinning-wheel
A pleasant chant, ballad or barcarole;
She thinketh of her song, upon the whole, <…

425
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

VIII

VIII


What can I give thee back, O liberal
And princely giver, who hast brought the gold
And purple of thine heart, unstained, untold,

454
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

To George Sand: A Recognition

To George Sand: A Recognition

TRUE genius, but true woman ! dost deny
The woman's nature with a manly scorn
And break away the gauds and armlets …

487
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

VI

VI


Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand
Henceforward in thy shadow. Nevermore
Alone upon the threshold of my door
Of individ…

439
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Weakest Thing

The Weakest Thing

Which is the weakest thing of all
Mine heart can ponder?
The sun, a little cloud can pall
With darkness yonder?

435
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

To Flush, My Dog

To Flush, My Dog

Loving friend, the gift of one
Who her own true faith has run

Through thy lower nature,
Be my benediction said <…

500
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point

The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point

I.
I stand on the mark beside the shore
Of the first white pilgrim's bended knee,
Where exile turned…

657
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Soul's Expression

The Soul's Expression

WITH stammering lips and insufficient sound
I strive and struggle to deliver right
That music of my nature, day and night <…

341
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Poet And The Bird

The Poet And The Bird

Said a people to a poet---' Go out from among us straightway!
While we are thinking earthly things, thou singest of divine.

404
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Look

The Look

The Saviour looked on Peter. Ay, no word,
No gesture of reproach; the Heavens serene
Though heavy with armed justice, did not lean

434
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Lady's Yes

The Lady's Yes

'Yes,' I answered you last night;
'No,' this morning, Sir, I say.
Colours seen by candlelight,
Will not look the same by d…

357
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Deserted Garden

The Deserted Garden

I mind me in the days departed,
How often underneath the sun
With childish bounds I used to run

To a garden l…

425
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Tears

Tears


THANK God, bless God, all ye who suffer not
More grief than ye can weep for. That is well--
That is light grieving ! lighter, none b…

457
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The Best Thing in the World

The Best Thing in the World

What's the best thing in the world?
June-rose, by May-dew impearled;
Sweet south-wind, that means no rain;
Tr…

430
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnets from the Portuguese iv

Sonnets from the Portuguese iv

IF thou must love me, let it be for naught
Except for love's sake only. Do not say,
'I love her for her smile--her…

537
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Stanzas on the Death of Lord Byron

Stanzas on the Death of Lord Byron

He was, and is not! Graecia's trembling shore,
Sighing through all her palmy groves, shall tell
That Harold's …

538
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet XXXVIII: First Time He Kissed Me

Sonnet XXXVIII: First Time He Kissed Me

First time he kissed me, he but only kissed
The finger of this hand wherewith I write;
And ever since, it…

611
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnets from the Portuguese ii

Sonnets from the Portuguese ii

UNLIKE are we, unlike, O princely Heart!
Unlike our uses and our destinies.
Our ministering two angels look surpri…

459
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet XXXVI: When We Met First

Sonnet XXXVI: When We Met First

When we met first and loved, I did not build
Upon the event with marble. Could it mean
To last, a love set pendul…

409
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet XXXVII: Pardon, Oh, Pardon

Sonnet XXXVII: Pardon, Oh, Pardon

Pardon, oh, pardon, that my soul should make,
Of all that strong divineness which I know
For thine and thee, an…

420
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet XXXIX: Because Thou Hast the Power

Sonnet XXXIX: Because Thou Hast the Power

Because thou hast the power and own'st the grace
To look through and behind this mask of me
(Against wh…

404
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet XXXV: If I Leave All for Thee

Sonnet XXXV: If I Leave All for Thee

If I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchange
And be all to me? Shall I never miss
Home-talk and blessings and…

418
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet XXXIII: Yes, Call Me by My Pet-Name!

Sonnet XXXIII: Yes, Call Me by My Pet-Name!

Yes, call me by my pet-name! let me hear
The name I used to run at, when a child,
From innocent play,…

393
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet XXXIV: With the Same Heart

Sonnet XXXIV: With the Same Heart

With the same heart, I said, I'll answer thee
As those, when thou shalt call me by my name--
Lo, the vain promis…

402