Half the night I waste in sighs, Half in dreams I sorrow after The delight of early skies; In a wakeful dose I sorrow For the hand, the lips, the eyes, For the meeting of the morrow, The delight of happy laughter, The delight of low replies.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a longing for a loved one and the bittersweet nature of anticipation.
Alfred Lord Tennyson's quote reflects the feelings of longing and heartache that accompany love. The speaker spends sleepless nights filled with sighs and dreams, yearning for the joy that comes from being with a beloved, highlighting the deep emotional connection and the sweet pain of desire as they await the happiness that tomorrow may bring.
In practice
A romantic poem reading at a wedding can use this quote to convey deep feelings for a partner.
Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark; For though from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.
How many a father have I seen, A sober man, among his boys, Whose youth was full of foolish noise.
O Love! what hours were thine and mine, In lands of palm and southern pine; In lands of palm, of orange-blossom, Of olive, aloe, and maize and vine!
Earth is dry to the centre,_x000D_ But spring, a new comer,_x000D_ A spring rich and strange,_x000D_ Shall make the winds blow_x000D_ Round and round,_x000D_ Thro' and thro',_x000D_ Here and there,_x000D_ Till the air_x000D_ And the ground_x000D_ Shall be fill'd with life anew.
O love, O fire! once he drew With one long kiss my whole soul through My lips, as sunlight drinketh dew.
But thy strong Hours indignant work’d their wills, And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me, And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d To dwell in presence of immortal youth, Immortal age beside immortal youth, And all I was, in ashes. - Tithonus
Love adds a precious seeing to the eye.
What is love but a second-hand emotion?
Abstinence sows sand all over The ruddy limbs and flaming hair, But desire gratified Plants fruits of life and beauty there.
My Constanze is the virtuous, honourable, discreet, and faithful darling of her honest and kindly-disposed Mozart.
Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God.
What's powerful about a love scene is not seeing the act. It's seeing the passion, the need, the desire, the caring, the fear.
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