A quick perceptiveness, a woman's charm,
a windless city white with falling snow,
the gallant courtesy of men-at-arms,
the blue of lazuli, the warmth of gold,
the song of birds, the reasonings of lovers,
a breeze at daybreak when the dawn is pale,
a flowered meadow full of all the colors,
galleons running under press of sail:

all these are second to my lady's worth.
No one seeing her would wish to trade
her presence for the wonders on that list.
Aptness for joy is in the way she's made —
her heart has knowledge which excels the rest
as heaven's sphere is greater than the earth.