Alfred, "Eccentric" Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

In Memoriam A.H.H. Section 27 (1850)

     I envy not in any moods
     The captive void of noble rage,
     The linnet* born within the cage,                       *small bird
     That never knew the summer woods:
     
     I envy not the beast that takes
     His license in the field of time,
     Unfetter'd by the sense of crime,
     To whom a conscience never wakes;
     
     Nor, what may count itself as blest,
     The heart that never plighted troth
     But stagnates in the weeds of sloth;
     Nor any want-begotten rest.
     
     I hold it true, whate'er befall;
     I feel it, when I sorrow most;
     'Tis better to have loved and lost
     Than never to have loved at all.
     

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