The Half Moon

Christina Georgina Rossetti

The half moon shows a face of plaintive sweetness
  Ready and poised to wax or wane;
A fire of pale desire in incompleteness,
  Tending to pleasure or to pain:—
Lo, while we gaze she rolleth on in fleetness
  To perfect loss or perfect gain.

Half bitterness we know, we know half sweetness;
  This world is all on wax, on wane:
When shall completeness round time’s incompleteness,
  Fulfilling joy, fulfilling pain?—
Lo, while we ask, life rolleth on in fleetness
  To finished loss or finished gain.

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