Later Sonnets: Youth and Knowledge

WHAT price, child, shall I pay for your brig;
( i I "V,- large a debt !) the light they shed on me ?
What for your cheeks, so ml in their surprise,
Your lips, your hands, your maiden gestures free,
Your fair brows crowned with grave nobility,
All the delight which in your presence lies,
The words unsaid, the deeds which dare not
The dreams undreamed, my meed of Paradise ?
—Nay, I can pay naught ; your poor bankrupt I
Since gold may not nor frankincense nor myrrh
my account nor any gift of kings.
Yet be my wealth yours, joys that fools deny,
Knowledge of life, love, power as presbyter,
The wit to teach youth's zeal to use its wings.