What can I give them back , O liberal
And princely giver , who has brought the gold
And purple of thine heart , unstained , untold ,
And laid them on the outside of the wall
For such as I to take or leave withal ,
In unexpected largesse ? Am I cold ,
Ungrateful , that for these most manifold
High gifts , I render nothing back at all ?
Not so ; not cold , --- but very poor instead .
Ask God who knows , for frequent tears have run
The colours from my life , and left so dead
And pale a stuff , it were not fitly done
To give the same as pillow to thy head .
Go farther ! Let it serve to trample on .

" Sonnets From The Portuguese VIII "
--- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
( 1806 - 1861 )