“Everything that is born must die” by Christina Rossetti

Posted on September 16, 2021September 16, 2021 by Victoria Emily Jones

Maari Christante (American, 1982–), *Anchored for Flight*, 2019. Digital photograph, 30 × 24 in. [available as a print]

Everything that is born must die;
   Everything that can sigh may sing;
Rocks in equal balance, low or high,
   Everything.

   Honeycomb is weighed against a sting;
Hope and fear take turns to touch the sky;
   Height and depth respond alternating.

O my soul, spread wings of love to fly,
   Wings of dove that soars on home-bound wing:
Love trusts Love, till Love shall justify
   Everything.

This untitled poem was originally published in Time Flies: A Reading Diary (SPCK, 1885) and appears in The Complete Poems by Christina Rossetti (Penguin, 2001). It is in the public domain.