Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.
Spiritual PassionGeorge Barlow (1847–1914?)
I
Who hears her lord praised by the adoring crowd:
Who hears them hymn his strength with paean loud—
His glory in thought or speech, his force in fight.
She knows him better. Thro’ the silent night
She has watch’d his face beneath keen sorrow bow’d;
Him she has cherish’d with embraces white;
She has kiss’d the lips that seem to men so proud.
That men should dread like some disastrous wand
His sceptre wielded o’er the people, while
She knows the sea-deep love that lies beyond.
She trusts her lord without one thought of guile,
Knowing her union holier and more fond.