“thou are not lovelier than lilacs”
by edna st. vincent millay

thou art not lovelier than lilacs,—no,
nor honeysuckle; thou art not more fair
than small white single poppies,—i can bear
thy beauty; though i bend before thee, though
from left to right, not knowing where to go,
i turn my troubled eyes, nor here nor there
find any refuge from thee, yet i swear
so has it been with mist,—with moonlight so.
like him who day by day unto his draught
of delicate poison adds him one drop more
till he may drink unharmed the death of ten,
even so, inured to beauty, who have quaffed
each hour more deeply than the hour before,
i drink—and live—what has destroyed some men.

draught – n. drink.

inured – v. to become accustomed to; hardened.

quaffed – v. to drink with enjoyment.

source: millay, edna st. vincent. “edna st. vincent millay.” sonnets. org. sonnet central, 20 mar. 2011. web. 12 apr. 2011.

compare millay’s poem to shakespeare’s sonnet 130 in terms of rhyme, rhythm, and structure.