“These were a part of the playing I heard
Once, ere my love and my heart were at strife;
Love that sings and hath wings as a bird,
Balm of the wound and heft of the knife.”

— Algernon Charles Swinburne , book Poems and Ballads

Poems and Ballads (1866-89), The Triumph of Time
Context: p>The pulse of war and passion of wonder,
The heavens that murmur, the sounds that shine,
The stars that sing and the loves that thunder,
The music burning at heart like wine,
An armed archangel whose hands raise up
All senses mixed in the spirit's cup
Till flesh and spirit are molten in sunder —
These things are over, and no more mine. These were a part of the playing I heard
Once, ere my love and my heart were at strife;
Love that sings and hath wings as a bird,
Balm of the wound and heft of the knife.
Fairer than earth is the sea, and sleep
Than overwatching of eyes that weep,
Now time has done with his one sweet word,
The wine and leaven of lovely life.</p

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "These were a part of the playing I heard Once, ere my love and my heart were at strife; Love that sings and hath wing…" by Algernon Charles Swinburne?

Algernon Charles Swinburne 87

English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic 1837–1909

Related quotes

“Kiss my hands, Love, make them feel caressed
Kiss them as if we two were only siblings,
Two birds singing in the sun and in the same nest.Kiss them, Love!… The wildest fantasy is at my fingertips
To hold those kisses locked within my hands
The kisses that I dreamed were for my lips!”

Florbela Espanca (1894–1930) Portuguese poet

Beija-me as mãos, Amor, devagarinho...
Como se os dois nascessemos irmãos,
Aves cantando, ao sol, no mesmo ninho...<p>Beija-mas bem!... Que fantasia louca
Guardar assim, fechados, nestas mãos,
Os beijos que sonhei pra minha boca!
Quoted in Presença literária (2001), p. 70
Translated by John D. Godinho
Book of Sorrows (1919), "Amiga"