Lyric Poem · Love

Sonnet 30 - I see thine image through my tears to-night

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Reading room

1I see thine image through my tears to-night,

2And yet to-day I saw thee smiling. How

3Refer the cause?—Beloved, is it thou

4Or I, who makes me sad? The acolyte

5Amid the chanted joy and thankful rite

6May so fall flat, with pale insensate brow,

7On the altar-stair. I hear thy voice and vow,

8Perplexed, uncertain, since thou art out of sight,

9As he, in his swooning ears, the choir's Amen.

10Beloved, dost thou love? or did I see all

11The glory as I dreamed, and fainted when

12Too vehement light dilated my ideal,

13For my soul's eyes? Will that light come again,

14As now these tears come—falling hot and real?

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“Sonnet 30 - I see thine image through my tears to-night” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning — quilloak.com/poems/sonnet-30-i-see-thine-image-through-my-tears-to-night

Quick facts

Poem: Sonnet 30 - I see thine image through my tears to-night
Poet: Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Length: 14 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Love, Sad, Dreams & Sleep

Craft notes

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Shape: 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
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Author record: Elizabeth Barrett Browning1806–1861
Source record: PoetryDBSonnet 30 - I see thine image through my tears to-night by elizabeth-barrett-browning, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 16bae9a173c1d48c…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Love Sad Dreams & Sleep

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