Littell's Living Age/Volume 1/Issue 1/Oh, ask me not how long
TO M———
OH, ask me not how long thy gentle love
Hath dwelt on me;
I only know ’t is long enough to prove
Thy constancy.
I cannot pause to number months, or days,
I know alone,
If to be faithful be Love’s highest praise,
Thou wear’st the crown.
Oh, thou hast loved me long enough to show
Thou canst not range;
And long enough to bid experience know
How others change.
Oh, long enough for the upbraiding thought,
That ne’er till now
I prized thy love’s rich treasure, as I ought,
My all below.
Yes, I have seen full many a dream depart
With faithless speed;
And some, who should have gently used my heart,
Have made it bleed.
And I have rued Affection’s broken vow,
And felt the chill
Of Friendship’s alterd eye—but, dearest, thou
Art faithful still.