Sonnet · Love
Sonnet 38: First time he kissed me
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning · 1850
1First time he kissed me, he but only kissed
2The fingers of this hand wherewith I write;
3And ever since, it grew more clean and white,
4Slow to world-greetings, quick with its 'Oh, list,'
5When the angels speak. A ring of amethyst
6I could not wear here, plainer to my sight,
7Than that first kiss. The second passed in height
8The first, and sought the forehead, and half missed,
9Half falling on the hair. O beyond meed!
10That was the chrism of love, which love's own crown,
11With sanctifying sweetness, did precede.
12The third upon my lips was folded down
13In perfect, purple state; since when, indeed,
14I have been proud and said, 'My love, my own.'
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“Sonnet 38: First time he kissed me” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning — quilloak.com/poems/first-time-he-kissed-me
Quick facts
- Poem
- Sonnet 38: First time he kissed me
- Poet
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Published
- 1850
- Length
- 14 lines
- Form
- Sonnet
- Themes
- Love, Happiness
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
- Line length
- Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning1806–1861
- Source record
- PoetryDBSonnet 38: First time he kissed me by elizabeth-barrett-browning, PoetryDB transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1850
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 16ad3f540af0f351…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.