Chapter XI

Paola and Francesca, dead these years,
And lost forever unto Rimini!
Lanciotto's garden blooms no more where ye
Found love is laughter, love is also tears;
Is peace and pain, high hopes and sudden fears;
That love is gain and loss, an ecstasy
Of heaven and then hell's hot eternity;
A balm that soothes the soul, a flame that sears.

I, too, know of a secret garden where
Pale asphodels are rivals of the rose;
And all life's opposites are gathered there
Before the spirit's agony, that knows
Gladness ineffable through loving One
Who hath no equal underneath the sun.