The music by Edouard Lippe
The Poem: Elizabeth Barret Browning

"How Do I Love Thee"
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
from Sonnets from the Portuguese XLIII

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach,
when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need,
by sun and candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men might strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs,
and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,

I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!

and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.