Christina Rossetti — The World

By day she wooes me, soft, exceeding fair:          But all night as the moon so changeth she;          Loathsome and foul with hideous leprosy, And subtle serpents gliding in her hair. By day she wooes me to the outer air,          Ripe fruits, sweet flowers, and full satiety:          But through the night, a beast she grins at me, A very monster void of love and prayer. By day she stands a lie: by night she stands,          In all the naked horror of the truth, With pushing horns and clawed and clutching hands. Is this a friend indeed; that I should sell          My soul to her, give her my life and youth, Till my feet, cloven too, take hold on hell?


Other Christina Rossetti songs:
all Christina Rossetti songs all songs from 1906