Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms

          by Thomas Moore (1779-1852)

Believe me if all those endearing young charms
Which I gaze on so fondly today
Were to change by tomorrow and fleet in my arms
Like fairy gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
That the fervour and faith of a heart may be known,
To which time will not make thee more dear.
No, the heart that truly loves never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god when he sets
The same look which she turned when he rose.

COMMENTS

Thomas Moore was an Irish barrister and a prolific poet. Born in Dublin and educated at Trinity College, he was a fairly successful lawyer and served for a time as Registrar of Admiralty in Bermuda.

Many of Moore's works were later set to music by Sir John Stevenson and others.

To learn more about Thomas Moore, click here.

To learn more about the history of the Irish Republic, click here.

For other poems by Thomas Moore, click here.

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