Some feel that those of us past a certain age are silly for loving Clay. I say that most of us are far from silly. In fact, age has ripened our reason and we have become far better at determining who is deserving of our love, and better at how we love.
Oh, no—-not ev’n when first we loved,
Wert thou as dear as now thou art;
Thy beauty then my senses moved,
But now thy virtues bind my heart.
What was but Passion’s sigh before,
Has since been turn’d to Reason’s vow;
And, though I then might love thee more,
Trust me, I love thee better now.
Although my heart in earlier youth
Might kindle with more wild desire,
Believe me, it has gain’d in truth
Much more than it has lost in fire.
The flame now warms my inmost core,
That then but sparkled o’er my brow,
And, though I seem’d to love thee more,
Yet, oh, I love thee better now.
~~ Thomas Moore
Claytonlady