I Like You and I Love You
I LIKE YOU Met I LOVE You, face to face;
The path was narrow, and they could not pass.
I LIKE YOU smiled; I LOVE YOU cried, Alas!
And so they halted for a little space.
‘Turn thou and go before,’ I LOVE YOU said,
‘Down the green pathway, bright with many a flower;
Deep in the valley, lo! my bridal bower
Awaits thee.’ But I LIKE YOU shook his head.
Then while they lingered on the span-wide shelf
That shaped a pathway round the rocky ledge,
I LIKE You bared his icy dagger’s edge,
And first he slew I LOVE You,—then himself.
