Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms

Thomas Moore

 Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
 Which I gaze on so fondly to-day,
 Were to change by to-morrow, and fleet in my arms,
 Live fairy-gifts fading away,
 Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
 Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
 And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
 Would entwine itself verdantly still.

 It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
 And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
 That the fervor and faith of a soul may be known,
 To which time will but make thee more dear!
 No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
 But as truly loves on to the close,
 As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets
 The same look which she turned when he rose!

Commentary

For some inexplicable reason, Moore simply doesn’t seem to feature here on Minstrels. Indeed, looking back through the archives, I see that in our entire seven year history, we have only run one of his poems1 - truly odd for a poet of his charm and prominence.

Today’s poem is one of Moore’s most famous, and justly so. The theme itself is a popular enough one, and Moore’s gift for musical verse makes his lines a delight to read and recite, but it is the last two lines that take a good poem and make it immortal. As startlingly apt a comparison as any I’ve seen, and far more memorable than most.

— Martin

Links

Wikipedia on Moore:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Moore

  1. I also note that I was surprised then too ↩


The Wondering Minstrels, poem #1841 · 9 April 2006

Poem selected by Martin DeMello

Fair use