I Will Not Let Thee Go

by Robert Bridges

   I will not let thee go.
Ends all our month-long love in this?
   Can it be summed up so,
   Quit in a single kiss?
   I will not let thee go.

   I will not let thee go.
If thy words’ breath could scare thy deeds,
   As the soft south can blow
   And toss the feathered seeds,
   Then might I let thee go.

   I will not let thee go.
Had not the great sun seen, I might;
   Or were he reckoned slow
   To bring the false to light,
   Then might I let thee go.

   I will not let thee go.
The stars that crowd the summer skies
   Have watched us so below
   With all their million eyes,
   I dare not let thee go.

   I will not let thee go.
Have we not chid the changeful moon,
   Now rising late, and now
   Because she set too soon,
   And shall I let thee go?

   I will not let thee go.
Have not the young flowers been content,
   Plucked ere their buds could blow,
   To seal our sacrament?
   I cannot let thee go.

   I will not let thee go.
I hold thee by too many bands:
   Thou sayest farewell, and lo!
   I have thee by the hands,
   And will not let thee go.