[1174] No One So Much As You

Guest poem submitted by Nitesh Dixit, <ndixit@>:

No one so much as you
Loves this my clay,
Or would lament as you
Its dying day.

You know me through and through
Though I have not told,
And though with what you know
You are not bold.

None ever was so fair
As I thought you:
Not a word can I bear
Spoken against you.

All that I ever did
For you seemed coarse
Compared with what I hid
Nor put in force.

My eyes scarce dare meet you
Lest they should prove
I but respond to you
And do not love.

We look and understand,
We cannot speak
Except in trifles and
Words the most weak.

For I at most accept
Your love, regretting
That is all: I have kept
Only a fretting

That I could not return
All that you gave
And could not ever burn
With the love you have,

Till sometimes it did seem
Better it were
Never to see you more
Than linger here

With only gratitude
Instead of love -
A pine in solitude
Cradling a dove.

     -- Edward Thomas

I came across this poem while going through a battered book, an anthology of
English poems from the mid-20th century, and just fell for it. I like this
poem for the simple reason that it seems so honest in its presentation. How
often do we find ourselves responding to someone and not actually having
those same emotions... or so we feel to be the case. Perhaps it's the  same
for both the parties, perhaps all of us are merely responding to the other
and not recognising our own emotions.

nitesh.

[this poem is archived, accessible and awaiting your comments at]
http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1174.html
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From: vikram doctor <vikdoc@>

This poem links to the Elizabeth Jennings poem, Delay.
this I think Minstrels ran long back. 

BTW, did you get the Stevie Smith poem I'd sent as
part of the film series. Its worth running on its own,

Vikram