I Eat Poetry

Believe Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms

Believe me, if all those endearing young charms,
Which I gaze on so fondly today,
Were to change by tomorrow, and fleet in my arms,
Like fairy-gifts fading away,
Thou wouldst still be adored, as this moment thou art,
Let thy loveliness fade as it will,
And around the dear ruin each wish of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still.

It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
And thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear
That the fervor and faith of a soul can be known,
To which time will but make thee more dear;
No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
But as truly loves on to the close,
As the sunflower turns on her god, when he sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose.

--Thomas Moore

Irish poet Thomas Moore is best known today for some rather sentimental poems/songs, and even this particular one--especially in its song version (you'd know if it you heard it)--is considered old-fashioned and a bit of hoakum by some.  However, I find the sentiments (like many poems of the 19th century) to be ineffably romantic. 

Love is eternal, and not a passing fancy determined by physical beauty alone.