Read "Friendship" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Dear friend, I pray thee, if thou wouldst be proving / Thy strong regard for me, / Make me no vows. Lip-service is not loving; / Let thy faith speak for thee.
Swear not to me that nothing can divide us- / So little such oaths mean. / But when distrust and envy creep beside us / Let them not come between.
Say not to me the depths of thy devotion / Are deeper than the sea; / But watch, lest doubt or some unkind emotion / Embitter them for me.
Vow not to love me ever and for ever, / Words are such idle things; / But when we differ in opinions, never / Hurt me by little stings.
I'm sick of words: they are so lightly spoken, / And spoken, are but air. / I'd rather feel thy trust in me unbroken / Than list thy words so fair.
If all the little proofs of trust are heeded, / If thou art always kind, / No sacrifice, no promise will be needed / To satisfy my mind.