A Birthday

My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
Because my love is come to me.
Raise me a dais of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.

About Christina Rossetti

English poet of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Known for "Goblin Market" and devotional verse of exquisite craftsmanship.

More poems by Christina Rossetti

View all Christina Rossetti poems →

More Love & Romance poems

View all Love & Romance poems →