The Soul's Rialto Hath Its Merchandise;

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Title:     The Soul's Rialto Hath Its Merchandise;
Author: Elizabeth Barrett Browning [More Titles by Browning]

Sonnet XIX.

The soul's Rialto hath its merchandise;
I barter curl for curl upon that mart,
And from my poet's forehead to my heart
Receive this lock which outweighs argosies,--
As purply black, as erst to Pindar's eyes
The dim purpureal tresses gloomed athwart
The nine white Muse-brows. For this counterpart, ...
The bay-crown's shade, Beloved, I surmise,
Still lingers on thy curl, it is so black!
Thus, with a fillet of smooth-kissing breath,
I tie the shadows safe from gliding back,
And lay the gift where nothing hindereth;
Here on my heart, as on thy brow, to lack
No natural heat till mine grows cold in death.

[The end]
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem: Soul's Rialto Hath Its Merchandise;

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